If you had kids, would they follow a vegan lifestyle?

[TazG]

If you had kids, would you push them into living a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle? If yes than at what age and why, if no then just why.

Personally, if I had kids I'd leave it up to them, if they wanted meat I'd have no problem with that, it's their choice after all, and it's not like giving them meat is unhealthy. On the flipside if they wanted to be vegan/vegetarian, then great, makes life a little easier for me.

[sponge]

I have 3 children and my biggest regret is that I did not go veg sooner so that they would have been raised that way. Fortunately, my two daughters are vegetarians, and my son is seriously working in that direction. I think it is a parent's responsibility that if he/she believes in something, then it should be incorporated into the family life. The vegan lifestyle should be taught to our kids.

[Risker]

If I had kids I would raise them as vegan, I'd no more be pushing them into a vegan diet than someone who raises there kids as non-vegan would be pushing them into there own choice of diet.

[emmapresley]

hmmn tazg..interesting way of phrasing it.

i've two kids, both old enough to make a choice, one chooses to be vegan and the other chooses not to be. at home i cook only vegan, no dairy in the fridge. so maybe i'm forcing what i believe on my child who rejects all things vegan. but.. i work and buy the food, and prepare it and cook it. in the same way as the vast majority of parents far and wide make choices about what to feed their children..as risker says above.
outside of our home, she has more of a choice. i have family people telling me it's too extreme and that she will rebel,and foolishly i listen..but then i think 'sod off'..i don't force my opinions on anyone else, or tell other people what to eat. again..i endlessly find that people 'don't get it'..you all here do 'get it' and i'm grateful to have you all..so i'm not stressing one bit about how i raise my children and how other people stick their (unwanted) opinions in.

[lauren_friday]

i'd raise them vegetarian until they asked why they didnt eat meat and then i'd let them eat it once or twice a week if they chose to. i'd let them eat free-range eggs but not dairy products.

[emmapresley]

If you had kids, would you push them into living a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle? If yes than at what age and why, if no then just why.

Personally, if I had kids I'd leave it up to them, if they wanted meat I'd have no problem with that, it's their choice after all, and it's not like giving them meat is unhealthy. On the flipside if they wanted to be vegan/vegetarian, then great, makes life a little easier for me.

tazg..why are you here?

[vegcurry]

If you had kids, would you push them into living a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle? If yes than at what age and why, if no then just why.

'pushing', that's a highly emotive and loaded term to choose to use isn't it.

Personally, if I had kids I'd leave it up to them, if they wanted meat I'd have no problem with that, it's their choice after all, and it's not like giving them meat is unhealthy. On the flipside if they wanted to be vegan/vegetarian, then great, makes life a little easier for me.

Yes, meat IS unhealthy. There's more than enough research proving how bad it is for you. If you don't believe this then take a look around the forums elsewhere, you could learn something.

[gertvegan]

would you push them into living a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle?

it's not like giving them meat is unhealthy.

Interesting 1st post.

[Korn]

it's their choice after all

Hi,
Are you sure you think you think that a kid should be able to decide over the life and death of an(other) animal? Why do you think it's the kid's, and not the animal's choice if he shall live or not?


As parents, we make choices not only for our kids' present situation, but also re. what kind of habits we give them - and also in terms how how the choices we make on behalf of them will influence their health, the ethical values we signalize in what we do and what we don't, others' health (and lives) - including animals' -, the environment etc.

Offering children the best diet we think they can get (by not adding animal products to their food) isn't more about 'pushing' than not buying cigarettes to a 10-year old would be 'pushing' him to be a non-smoking child...

If you had kids and they would eat a dog, would you say 'it's their choice after all'? I don't think so...

[gertvegan]

i'd raise them vegetarian

Why not vegan? Please elaborate.

[Heartsease]

Well....for the first years (in the womb and out) the baby is receiving the diet of the mother (and a tiny bit of the father through sperm)....so I would imagine that a child who was vegan from the start would be more than happy to continue eating the foods they were accustomed to. If my child said he'd like to try heroin/throwing himself out of a 4th floor window ,because someone else was trying it, I would like to think I would insist quite firmly that he did not. Until he is an adult I am responsible for providing back-up protection for times when his own choices look to be harmful (but they are usually pretty good). Veganism is pretty much a non-issue for my child since it is 'normal' in our reality.

People seldom seem to ask the same question of non-vegans.

Lauren_friday said " I'd raise them vegetarian until they asked why they did'nt eat meat then I'd let them eat it...".

Asking 'why' is not the same as asking 'for'. I think children use the views of parents and significant people until they have developed their own ability to make adult decisions. That is normal for children. That is not 'forcing' your beliefs onto your child. The time comes when they question the views of those around them and then is the time to find out if your own beliefs can stand up to scrutiny...if you've done your research they will.

[cobweb]

meat is very unhealthy for the 'donor' animal 'nuff said

[sugarmouse]

IfI had kids, I would raise them vegan, as a meat eater tends to raise their kids as meat eaters. I would no way want my child to eat meat

[lauren_friday]

Lauren_friday said " I'd raise them vegetarian until they asked why they did'nt eat meat then I'd let them eat it...". if you look i then said "if they chose to"

the reason i would raise them as ovo-vegetarians (no-dairy) is that dairy is unnecessary, unnatural and has no benefits whereas free-range-eggs from unfertilised hens provide omega 3 and 6 which young children cannot receive from nuts. as they grew up i would phase out the eggs so they were leading a vegan lifestyle til the time came to choose.

[cobweb]

there are plenty of other (better) sources of omegas, lauren - i mix udos oil into my son's ketchup, for instance, and buy vegan marg that is fortified with omegas.

[Korn]

free-range-eggs from unfertilised hens provide omega 3 and 6 which young children cannot receive from nuts

Hi Lauren,
here are some links that may interest you:
Vegan Omega-3
Omega-3: Flax seeds / linseeds
Free-range products
Vegans and eggs

Since you don't seem to be familiar with vegans' viewpoints re. use of animal products yet, we've changed your account to a Not-A-Vegan-Yet account (for now), but you can still read posts in all areas.

[Heartsease]

Lauren_friday said "If you look I then said 'If they chose to'"

Whoops, Lauren_Friday....I don't know how I missed that. Apple-ogies!

[harpy]

My parents "pushed" me to eat meat as a child when I didn't really want to. It would have saved everyone a lot of trouble if they hadn't bothered ETA but to be fair 50 years ago there was a bit more excuse for thinking that meat was necessary for health, I suppose.

[Heartsease]

I was "pushed" too, harpy. I can remember my mother saying I could'nt leave the table until I'd eaten my dinner (steak and kidney pie). How do you swallow when you're (w)retching? It's not easy, I can tell you.

[BlackCats]

I remember my mum didn't let me leave the table until I had eaten my omelette when I was younger, I remember thinking it was disgusting when I saw her cracking the eggs to prepare it.

I doubt I will have kids but if I did I would definitely raise them vegan because I'm vegan. I would give them the facts when they were old enough and try to let them form their own opinions.

[sugarmouse]

I had a few untoward incidents when I first went veggie. Including,...my sister feeding me salmon quiche a month after I went vegetarian, for xmas dinner , thinking i was ok with fish. I wasnt, but I ate a small amount of it, and it gave me food poisoning! reeeeeeeallty bad, completely ruined my xmas, so painful and horrible!
Then, staying at my grandmothers, I woke the next morning to the smell of bacon and she nudged me with er elbow and whispered ' you can have a bit o bacon cant you.'
Grr. I jus shook my little head and said no.
She went on couple of times thru the morning, saying 'this bacon smells nice, do you want some?'

Then feeding me meat pie couple of times, and me having to refuse it. It was baffling to me why should she cook meat for me knowin I was a vegetaraian?surely just wasting her time and her food?
But I know now she thought I was going thru some sort of childhood phase. Phase of animal loving.Hmm.

[TazG]

It seems I need to explain my own opinion in a little more detail.

Millions of people eat meat and are perfectly healthy, it is not comparable to taking heroin, tobacco or any other drug.

The reason I wouldn't force my child into a specific lifestyle is because I was forced into a lifestyle myself as a child, and I hated it, I would never wish that upon my own child.

[tipsy]

yeah, my dad still thinks its a phase and i was pretty much raised vegetarian (by my mother)!

whenever i would go visit him he would say "oh youre on vacation, howabout a hotdog? or some calamari? "

like since i was on vacation it didnt count

[Korn]

Millions of people eat meat and are perfectly healthy, it is not comparable to taking heroin, tobacco or any other drug.

There are lots of documented health issues associated with consuming meat and other animal products...

The reason I wouldn't force my child into a specific lifestyle is because I was forced into a lifestyle myself as a child, and I hated it, I would never wish that upon my own child.

So if you give a child vegan food, you are 'forcing' him, but if you add some eggs to his diet, you are not? Please explain...

If you start to give eggs to a baby you are making a decision on behalf of two other sentient beings; a baby, who hasn't asked for eggs, and and a hen, who is over-producing eggs because her eggs are taken away from her.

[TazG]

So if you give a child vegan food, you are 'forcing' him, but if you add some eggs to his diet, you are not? Please explain...

He would be raised vegan, until he was old enough to choose, and by that I mean old enough to actually be able to ask if he can eat meat.

[TazG]

So if you give a child vegan food, you are 'forcing' him, but if you add some eggs to his diet, you are not? Please explain...

If you start to give eggs to a baby you are making a decision on behalf of two other sentient beings; a baby, who hasn't asked for eggs, and and a hen, who is over-producing eggs because her eggs are taken away from her.

Let me be more specific.

If the child asked for meat/dairy, I wouldn't say no.

[Maisiepaisie]

Millions of people eat meat and are perfectly healthy, it is not comparable to taking heroin, tobacco or any other drug.

There are also millions of people who smoke and are in good health. Does that mean we can assume smoking doesn't harm? I wouldn't allow my kids to eat meat. I wish that when they'd been born I knew what I know now about healthy eating and I never would have allowed them to eat crap. My son chose to become vegan but he still loves junk food, fizzy pop and sugar filled cakes. I no longer buy anything containing chemical additives or sugar because I believe that all this rubbish can cause cancer and ill health, as can meat and dairy. If my son chooses to eat crap while he's outside the house theirs not much I can do about it other than remind him of what that stuff will do to his body. He's not allowed to eat it under my roof.

BTW I don't totally deprive him of cake. I buy cakes made from natural stuff rather sugar

[harpy]

The reason I wish I hadn't been made to eat meat when I was little is not that I think it was necessarily bad for me, but that it did a lot of unnecessary damage to other creatures which can't be undone now.

Once I'd got the habit I went on eating it long after I had the choice not to, as well

Parents can't avoid influencing their children's choices so it makes sense to influence them for good rather than ill, IMO.

[BlackCats]

I'm not sure if I think miniscule amounts of meat are bad for you physically. I think people could probably eat VERY small amounts of meat and fish and still not have health worries? Am I wrong in thinking this - I would be happy to be wrong?

But I wouldn't bring up my child to be a meateater just as I wouldn't bring them up to be Christian or Muslim or Jewish or a Satanist or whatever because I would try and instill my own belief system in them through example/education.

But I totally think dairy products are terrible for any human to consume, thats why I think I was forced to have dairy products as a child by parents and at school (remember those luke-warm bottles of milk with a head of yellow cream at top with the little blue straws that were inflicted on us)

[Korn]

Let me be more specific.

If the child asked for meat/dairy, I wouldn't say no.

And if a child asked for cigarettes ( = doesn't involve killing of animals) you would say....?

[Korn]

But I wouldn't bring up my child to be a meateater just as I wouldn't bring them up to be Christian or Muslim or Jewish or a Satanist or whatever because I would try and instill my own belief system in them through example/education.

Good point. Since there pretty much are no 'meat-arians' (promoting that children should not get vegan food at all), plant food is the 'least common denominator' so to speak; the kind of food that neither vegans, meat eaters and lacto-vegetarians are against giving to children.

[Maisiepaisie]

I'm not sure if I think miniscule amounts of meat are bad for you physically. I think people could probably eat VERY small amounts of meat and fish and still not have health worries? Am I wrong in thinking this - I would be happy to be wrong?

Lots of people could and do so you are not wrong However the way I see it is there are lots of foods/ substances that are bad for our bodies - meat, dairy, caffeine, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, sugar, pesticides found on non organic foods and chemical additives. Most people consume a selection of these things in moderation and they don't usually kill anyone. I feel that the more of these things we consume, the higher the risk of becoming sick so I would rather avoid them totally (with the exception of the last 3 which I do indulge in occasionally ) I'd rather increase my chances of a long healthy life than than risk my health by putting crap into my body.

[TazG]

And if a child asked for cigarettes ( = doesn't involve killing of animals) you would say....?

I'd say no.

[Korn]

Why no to cigarettes, and yes to meat? As soon as the kid is old enough to ask for meat, you'll support the meat industry and supporting killing animals by buying some meat to him just because he likes it/asks for it - even when you know he doesn't need it? Is his tastebuds so important that you're willing to act against your own viewpoints just to please him? What if you get a daughter who wants money to buy leather/fur-stuff? It's not unhealthy to wear leather... is it OK then?

[cobweb]

I cannot think of one reason why a vegan who was vegan before, and during parenthood, would think it was 'ok' to allow or encourage their offspring to eat a dead body if they did not believe this to be 'food' suitable for their own consumption .

Vegans, by definition, seek to avoid causing unnecessary suffering and seek to exclude all cruelly produced products from within their lifestyle - so why would a vegan buy dead animals for anyone else?. I don't understand.

[TazG]

Because I choose to give them the choice.

[Korn]

Please have a look at my previous post, TazG. IF children always should be given choice, they would have no restrictions against eating chocolate for dinner, playing football in a road with heavy traffic or smoke cigarettes. I agree that they should have as much choice as possible, but not to the degree that they risk that they (or others) are harmed or killed.

One person's (animal's) freedom will often limit another animal's (person's) freedom. Freedom isn't a static value. If you have a child, and gives it freedom to eat a chicken (the only reason the child wants to eat chicken is that he has a friend that eats chicken), the chicken won't have any freedom to live anymore, and buying a chicken to that child takes away your freedom to spend your money in an ethical way, eg. by having the freedom to boycot an industry that known not only for their horrible way of treating chicken, but whose 'freedom' to make money on treating animals the way they do isn't even compared with these animals' right and freedom to have a good life.

WHy is that kids' freedom to eat an animal that has been killed (and suffered when it was alive) more important that the freedom of that animal - or the freedom of any parent to ensure that they aren't forced to treat their children in ways that clearly find wrong?

OTOH - if you don't care about the freedom of these animals, and if you don't think it's wrong to 'be forced to' support the meat industry by your kids, you're not a vegan and have come to the wrong place....

[TazG]

If the kid wanted meat and I said no then the kid would simply eat meat behind my back, I'd rather the kid eat home cooked meat than heavily processed crap like macdonalds or burger king.

Do you disagree?

[Korn]

If the kid wanted meat and I said no then the kid would simply eat meat behind my back

Not if your kids eats most his meals at home (which most kids do), Plus, that kind of 'logic' would also suggest that you should by give the child everything he wanted when he was a child, because otherwise he would would just use tobacco, alcohol, cocaine 'behind your back'. Many of us are parents - and know that in real life, if we choose to give our kids wheat we think is best for them (and the animals/the environment) they'll of course consume a lot less of the bad stuff than if their parents would buy it to them.

Here's the same question I asked a couple of times already:

Why no to cigarettes, and yes to meat?

[cobweb]

If the kid wanted meat and I said no then the kid would simply eat meat behind my back, I'd rather the kid eat home cooked meat than heavily processed crap like macdonalds or burger king.

Do you disagree?

100% disagree!

If a child is raised vegan then they are far more likely to not want to eat meat, particularly crap like McDonalds which they presumably would loathe from an ethical stance, having been taught the facts at home by vegan parents.

Anyway, i have a vegan child and as i no longer regard corpses as 'food', and haven't for approx. 20 years then 'meat' is simply not on the agenda in my home. If, however, he really wants to eat dead animals elsewhere then i cannot stop him, just like (as Korn says) i could not stop him smoking, etc. Doesn't mean i have endorse these things and give them my stamp of approval . He's got all the factual information he needs - he knows exactly how 'meat' gets from field to plate and he knows how well one can live as a vegan. To then give him meat at home would certainly be sending him a very mixed up message. So i send him out into the world armed with these facts and then, of course, the rest is up to him .

[TazG]

Not if your kids eats most his meals at home (which most kids do), Plus, that kind of 'logic' would also suggest that you should by give the child everything he wanted when he was a child, because otherwise he would would just use tobacco, alcohol, cocaine 'behind your back'. Many of us are parents - and know that in real life, if we choose to give our kids wheat we think is best for them (and the animals/the environment) they'll of course consume a lot less of the bad stuff than if their parents would buy it to them.

Here's the same question I asked a couple of times already:

Why no to cigarettes, and yes to meat?

Make no mistake, if your child wants to smoke, drink alcohol or do cocaine, they will, the world we live in makes things like this easy to get hold of, even as a child.

Meat has a great variation of unhealthiness depending on where it's form, how it's prepared, etc.

If my child ate meat, I'd make sure I got him the healthiest meat possible, if my child smoked, I'd get him the cigarettes with the lowest amount of tar possible, etc

Come to think of it, if I caught my kid doing either of those I'd probably just stop giving them money.

[Risker]

Come to think of it, if I caught my kid doing either of those I'd probably just stop giving them money.

That's a much better solution

[emmapresley]

okay...how about if you had kids and they earnt their pocket money and chose to spend it on something like kfc when they were out with their friends.
assuming you have explained why buying 'food' there is in no way what you yourself would support and acknowledging that they have earnt the money, have you a right to tell them on what they may spend that money?

[cobweb]

no, I personally don't think you have a right to tell them if they earnt the money - but you do have a right to voice your opinion, loudly!

[sandra]

Maybe I've just been incredibly lucky but my two children from a very early age wanted to be like me and be vegetarian..............I didn't force my opinions on them they just must have liked what they heard and realised it was the right thing to do.
When I became vegan they both asked me questions as to 'why?' and after looking into it themselves are now both vegans.
I don't have to worry that they 'secretly' want to eat meat or that they would eat meat/dairy etc while out with friends because they are both doing it of their own accord and for the right reasons.

[BlackCats]

I think thats the right way to do it Sandra - just show them by example and explain why you are doing it.
Lets hope if your kids choose to become parents themselves that they will impart the same message to their kids.

[emmapresley]

that's great sandra... perhaps you are lucky. i, as you know, have one who feels that way and another who adamantly insists that it isn't normal to be vegan, that we're supposed to eat meat and that it's just opinion that it's cruel. really as blunt as that..that it isn't fact that there's suffering, it's an opinion. i know she has a good way to go on growing up and views may change and knowledge will be learnt..but i really do think it's a case of again, that some people 'get it' and some people don't.

and yep, cobweb..i hear you!! my opinions are really very well voiced..yupyup!

[sandra]

I think thats the right way to do it Sandra - just show them by example and explain why you are doing it.
Lets hope if your kids choose to become parents themselves that they will impart the same message to their kids.

Oh, they definitely will Aphrodite..........infact my daughter's boyfriend has now become vegetarian and is going to be vegan very soon!

As I said though, I know I am very lucky!

[thecatspajamas1]

When I have children, they will totally be vegan, and all their friends will be jealous of them because I'm going to pack them the coooolest lunches!
(Have you ever seen the blog Vegan Lunch Box? such fun lunchpacking ideas)

Sometimes I have thought about this: If I had kids and they were meat-eaters, that would be my responsibilty for bringing them into the world and causing more meat consumption, so that wouldn't be vegan of me. But then... so what if my kids are vegan and stay vegan, but then my grandchildren aren't, and neither are their children, and so on... I feel like my act of reproducing can potentially cause 1000s of future meat-consumers over time, assuming they all reproduce and not all of my descendents are vegans! So, I realize, me having a child, vegan or not, is pretty unvegan of me. However, I can't help but want to have a tiny sweet baby and to raise a family, so I'm going to do it... know what I mean? It's a very conflicting decision.

[Orange-powered]

I don't want children at all. However hypothetically if I was to have children, I'd definitely raise them vegan. Once they were older they could decide for themselves, but I'd still encourage them to remain vegan.