Raising a Vegan Child

Last week, Georgia's Supreme Court upheld the murder convictions and life prison sentences of an Atlanta vegan couple who were charged with allowing their baby to starve to death. ABC News reports:

"Six-week-old Crown Shakur weighed 3 1/2 pounds when he died in 2004 from extreme malnourishment or starvation. His parents, Jade Sanders and Lamont Thomas, were convicted Monday of malice murder, felony murder, involuntary manslaughter and cruelty to children.

'No matter how many times they want to say, 'We're vegans, we're vegetarians,' that's not the issues in this case,' prosecutor Chuck Boring told the court. 'The child died because he was not fed. Period.'"

While this case seems to have more to do with child abuse than veganism, it highlights the importance of food education. A vegan diet can be complete and nutritious, as long as it contains enough protein, calcium and vitamins D and B12. Similarly, there's nothing unhealthy about eating meat, as long as you make sure your diet is diverse and not lacking in fruits and vegetables.

For most women, a vegan pregnancy would probably prove difficult, and raising a picky toddler on vegan food even more so. Instead, the focus should be on providing the most nutritious diet possible. And when 20 percent of children aged 6-11 years in the United States are obese that often doesn't seem to be the case.