Babies & Toddlers (what came out of the oven)

The only person who receives a comparable amount of flack to a pregnant vegetarian is a vegetarian parent! Parents try so hard to provide their children with the best of everything in life, that it is extremely difficult to go against mainstream thinking: the guilt would be unbearable if their child suffered on account of their belief system. Ahh…the irony: the earlier in life a vegetarian diet is adopted, the stronger the foundation of health. Studies have shown that children consuming the traditional North American diet start showing the arterial effects of arteriosclerosis (plaque build up in the arteries caused by high consumption of cholesterol and saturated fat and pre cursor to heart disease) in kindergarten! In fact, the biggest protein overdose is found among children aged 3 to 8: they are told to "drink 3 glasses of milk a day", and end up consume, on the average, 209% of their actual protein needs (1).

Vegetarian parents can fall ever more deeply into the dairy trap, by trying to overcompensate the lack of meat with extra milk (more about dairy below). In WWII food rations in Britain caused an impromptu vegetarian experiment as food rationing made meat consumption impractical (too expensive and an inefficient use of land). An entire nation of vegetarians - why, there must have been large scale death and deterioration! Well, not exactly: infant and post-natal deaths dropped to their lowest rate ever, instances of anemia dropped markedly, children's growth rates and dental health were demonstrably better than ever before and many other signs of greatly improved health presented themselves (2). But, how would most parents and children be privy to such information, what with the National Livestock and Meat Board, Dairy Board and Egg Board supplying graduating teachers with pre-made lesson plans (a lesson plan is labour intensive to a teacher and any extra 'help' provided to these already overworked individuals is gold) extolling the virtues of the consumption of their products?!

Nearly half of Caucasian children are lactose (the carbohydrate found in milk) intolerant and this allergy goes largely undiagnosed. It can produce colicky behavior in children and its effects range from irritability, diarrhea, constipation, skin rashes and hyper-activity. The proportion of African Canadian and Asian Canadian children is even higher than their Caucasian piers as their ancestral countries of origin consume little to no dairy products. Dairy products are in fact the leading cause of allergies in children (3). So, what if your child is not lactose intolerant; milk is a great source of goodness, right? Milk protein may trigger the onset of insulin-dependent diabetes in children, and dairy products in general are associated with several degenerative diseases (4). It is, as well a great source (I'm being facetious) of saturated fat and cholesterol, is nutritionally designed for….a cow, has such high protein content that it wholly cancels out the calcium content (calcium neutralizes acids in the body - acid producing nutrient: protein!). All this and one standard first-year college nutrition textbook states: "Milk is the most nutritious food in the diet at any age" (5).

Just a word about children and choices: children are extremely sensitive and attuned to the animal kingdom. Sociological research indicates that the majority of children are unaware of the true origins of the 'meat' on their plates and even after having the concept explained to them are still unable to grasp the concept. In the words of Harvey Diamond in his book "Fit for Life": "You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car.".

A word about (human) breast milk: if at all possible - use it! It is recommended that mother's breast feed their children until at least the age of 6 months. Having said that - if circumstances beyond your control make this an impossibility, no-one has the right to judge you! If you are feeding your baby a formula (consider choosing for all of the above reasons!), realize that no formulas contain EFAs (essential fatty acids which are present in breast milk). You can use one teaspoon of flaxseed per day mixed into the formula AFTER its been heated (highly heat sensitive) and one capsule of evening primrose oil rubbed in to baby's skin (its absorbed through the skin) (6). If it is within your power: breast milk is the perfect first food for babies, because it's tailor-made for them: at no other time in our lives do we have a diet so well suited to our needs (7): The composition of milk: it contains protective substances that give your baby added immunity /protection against certain illnesses; they are less likely to have problems with allergies later in life; they are more likely to maintain an ideal weight; and its convenient and sterile (8). Environmental contaminants concentrate themselves in the fatty tissues of human beings and animals. The breast is, of course largely fat. Vegetarian women have far lower concentrations of pesticides and chemical residues (largely associated with factory farming) and are therefore for less likely to pass this along to their babies. Breast feeding is, as well, good for Mom, as it helps the uterus to return to its former size more quickly and aids in taking off excess "baby fat"

(1) Robbins, John "Diet for a New America", Stillpoint Publishing, 1987
(2) "Diet for a New America"
(3) Marcus, Erik "Vegan - The New Ethics of Eating", McBooks, 1998
(4) "Vegan - The New Ethics of Eating"
(5) "Vegan - The New Ethics of Eating"
(6) Galland, Leo, MD "Superimmunity for Kids", Copestone Press, 1988
(7) Cronish, Nettie, Barbara Selley, RD and Suzanne Havala, RD "CIG - Being Vegetarian in Canada", Pearson Education, 2000
(8) Cronish, Nettie, Barbara Selley, RD and Suzanne Havala, RD "CIG - Being Vegetarian in Canada", Pearson Education, 2000