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October 19, 2005
Vegan parents on trial for baby's death
by flowermama
There is a current heartbreaking news story about a mother and father on trial for the death of their sixth month old baby girl. They followed a "living foods lifestyle," and their wee babe "allegedly" died from malnutrition.
Here are a couple links to articles about it. . .
Vegan parents on trial for baby's death, allegedly from malnutrition
Parents Accused of Starving Infant to Death
Edited to Add this link:
Baby's diet focus of trial (article dated 10/17/05)
First of all, I do not wish to judge the parents' alternative lifestyle. In fact, I applaud those who take the time and effort to learn about alternatives and don't blindly follow what the mainstream says is right. Our family has researched and prayed about many options in our efforts to find the best ways for our family to live, and, from reading the articles, it appears that we have made some of the same alternative choices this family did. They didn't eat animal products, and the kids and I don't eat them. They homebirthed, and I birthed three of our babies at home. They did not vaccinate, and we do not vaccinate. These choices themselves are not scary or bad and can be very good and wonderful.
Good parents make the choices they do because they feel they are best for their children, and with any choice it is crucial to reevaluate our choices in light of the current needs of our children and our whole family. If our children aren't thriving on the choices we've made, some type of changes are in order. We may need to modify what we are currently doing or, in some instances, even be willing to make a complete lifestyle change. Sometimes what we need to do is seek out help when we need it. Our top priority should be to protect our children.
With the little information I've read in these articles, it sounds like these parents somehow lost their sites on what was important in life. I believe that a raw foods vegan diet was not to blame for what went wrong.
On the page linked-to above, it says,
Prosecutors say the Andressohns starved Woyah to death by restricting her to a raw food diet, also known as a vegan diet or a "living foods lifestyle," feeding her only wheat grass, coconut water and milk made from almonds.
First of all it needs to be clarified that a raw food diet is not "also known as a vegan diet." There are many vegans (those who choose to eat a diet without animal products) who don't eat a raw foods diet. A raw foods diet can be vegan, but it wouldn't necessarily be vegan, and the two are not one and the same.
It also needs to be clarified that a raw foods diet can be very healthy, and, also, a vegan diet can be very healthy. For it to be said that she died because her parents restricted her diet to a "raw foods diet" would be incorrect. As we can see from the articles there were other factors beyond that, and, raw food or not, I can't see how what they fed her (according to the article) would provide adequate nutrition for an infant.
From the limited information we have available to us, it does sound to me very likely that their diet was inadequate. However, I don't believe their diet was inadequate because it was vegan or because it was raw foods. It may have been a too restrictive diet, but neither a raw foods diet or a vegan diet are inherently unhealthy or too restrictive.
Let me reiterate that a vegan diet can be very healthy for infants and children. Most of us have experienced this with our own infants, because most babies are vegan or vegetarian for at least the first six months of their life.
Resources for Raising Vegan Children
Growing Vegans... Birth through Adolescence excerpt from Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet
The Vegan Diet for Infants and Children by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD and Sandra Hood, BSc (Hons), SRD
Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. and
Katie Kavanagh-Prochaska, Dietetic Intern (on The Vegetarian Resource Group website)
Feeding Vegan Kids
by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. (on The Vegetarian Resource Group website)
Posted by flowermama at October 19, 2005 10:55 AM
Comments
How very, very sad.
It seems in this story, however, blaming "vegan" for the death is so misplaced. How many parents are blamed for their children's junk food diets landing them in the hospital? Though it happens all the time. . .
Posted by: TulipGirl at October 19, 2005 06:31 PM
