Vegan in the Belfast Telegraph

feral · Mar 24th, 2006, 07:08 PM

Found this article in our local paper, I've cut and pasted it as it's an archive piece that wouldn't be viewable after tonight...

Belfast Telegraph Article
Expert hits out over vegan diet children
'Unethical' to deny animal products
By Andrea Clements
25 February 2005
A local vegetarian representative today hit back at claims that denying young children animal products was "unethical".
Strict vegetarians who insist their children live by the maxim "meat is murder" had come under fire after a Californian study showed that adding just two spoonfuls of meat to the diet of poverty-stricken children in Africa transformed them both physically and mentally.
Professor Lindsay Allen, director of the US Agricultural Research Service's Western Human Nutrition Research Centre, who conducted the study, was especially critical of parents who imposed a vegan lifestyle on their children, denying them milk, cheese and butter as well as milk.
Prof Allen said: "Animal source foods have some nutrients which are not found anywhere else.
"Talking of young children and pregnant women and lactating women I would say it is unethical to withhold these foods during that period of life."
Beth Gourley, for the Vegetarian Society of the UK, said she believed the majority of vegetarian parents were responsible and showed no neglect in regard to their children's diets.
"Don't parents have the right to bring their children up according to their morals?
"Vegetarian diets can be more healthy and pose less risk of diseases which affect people in later life.
"There's a 25% lower risk of dying from heart disease for vegetarians and few vegetarians are overweight."
She pointed to tofu, green leafy vegetables, wholegrain foods and beans, pulses and nuts as of significant nutritional value.
Gillian Killner, speaking for the British Dietetics Association in Northern Ireland, said the study was the first to suggest a strong need for meat in the diet, and that further research should be awaited.
She stressed the importance for vegans or vegetarians, especially those who were pregnant, breastfeeding or feeding young children to get the right nutrients.
"There are good meat alternatives which have been used for generations.
"Vitamin D, B2 and vitamin 12 would be of concern, therefore alternatives from the sun and fortified foods would be recommended.
"Following a planned diet will mean that you will not miss out on essential nutrients."

And a small follow up article a few days later....

Cattlemen paid for study

01 March 2005
Regarding Andrea Clements' report headed Expert hits out over vegan diet children (Belfast Telegraph, February 25), readers may be interested to know that the study by Dr Lindsay Allen was paid for by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association.
Many of the news agencies in the US did not run that story, based on its questionable claims and origin.
This report from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is propaganda from the meat industry.
VALERIE MIZUHARA, San Francisco.

I was glad to see the follow up article but very dissapointed in how little effort (page space) it was given in contrast with the first article... I guess bad news sells better. It is very interesting to see the lengths the meat industry go to to try and influence our diet. Why do they seem so threatened? Surely a minority of veg*ns couldn't pose that much of a threat.. but then we must be having some effect