Kids & Vegetarianism

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Misty L. Trepke

http://www..com

 

Kids & vegetarianism: Just toss together & mix well

By VANCE LEHMKUHL

Posted on Mon, Mar. 10, 2003

 

http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/5356284.htm

 

WHEN 8-year-old Lisa Simpson decided to become a vegetarian in 1995,

it was hilarious and heartwarming.

 

But if this happens to you, it probably won't seem so funny. For one

thing, there'll be no flying pig. For another, many parents may have

gotten the idea that vegetarianism and veganism are too risky.

 

No wonder: Recent stories about parents causing deficiencies with

wacky or B12-deficient " vegetarian " diets got a lot of play. So if

you're faced with those ominous words ( " I want to be a vegetarian " ),

you may well be apprehensive. But try to see it instead as an

opportunity to instill good eating habits.

 

In other words, your child may think of going veggie as a good way of

getting out of eating liver, but it's actually a better way of

assuring five-a-day of fruits and vegetables. It's a good excuse to

expose them (and yourself) to different foods and cooking styles.

 

In Chinatown alone, there's a wide range of international cuisines

rich with vegetarian options. For meals at home, try some of the many

new meatless items available in the produce section - or check out

some of the produce you usually ignore, and grab one of the

burgeoning crop of vegetarian cookbooks to help find the right dish

for it.

 

Involve the child in the preparation of whatever meals are feasible,

and discuss the choices involved.

 

A lot depends on the child's age and the exact diet. Anyone under 12

with non-vegan parents probably should not jump into veganism unless

a parent is committed to researching, maintaining and enforcing

certain nutrition requirements.

 

Here are the top areas to know about (comprehensive info is at

http://www.vrg.org -

 

• PROTEIN - Everybody's favorite bogeyman, but rarely a factor here,

as Americans eat way too much of it anyway. Vegans can get plenty

from legumes. (Meal-by-meal " protein combination " is unnecessary.)

 

• CALCIUM - Vegans don't drink milk, but calcium is plentiful in

leafy greens (kale, collards, etc.) as well as in fortified soy milk,

rice milk, tofu, soy yogurt, orange juice and more foods all the

time. Calcium intake is optimized when protein levels are not

excessive.

 

• OMEGA-3

 

FATTY ACIDS - Available through fortified cereals, waffles, etc. or

by adding to meals a tablespoon of flax-seed or hemp oil (which may

appeal to your little rebel, but is non-psychoactive).

 

• B12 - This nutrient, which humans used to ingest via

bacteria-covered food, should be supplemented for all vegans. It's in

kids' multivitamins and also in fortified soy and rice milks, etc.

 

B12 deficiency is something to watch out for, but it's worth noting

that 39 percent of Americans are below the recommended level for B12,

and that the B12 in meat is not absorbed as readily as that in

cereals.

 

Vegetarianism and, for older children, veganism can and should be

fully nourishing if a variety of foods, especially colorful fruits

and vegetables, are eaten consistently, and if parents become

partners in learning about the diet.

 

Children's nutrition, after all, is nothing to toy with. It demands

close attention - more, anyway, than the usual scattershot glance we

tend to give to our own nutrition.

 

It needs to be taken more seriously than our nation's school lunch

programs - and brazenly commercial " edutainment " like the beef site

for preteen girls - have done so far.

 

Vegetarianism is no cure-all, but does provide inarguable health

benefits and fosters good food choices.

 

Even if the child grows out of the " phase, " they'll have encountered

many different, fidyl healthy ways of eating that will serve them

well as their tastes grow and mature.

 

 

Vance Lehmkuhl is the online editor of the Daily News.

 

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[Guest guest]

Hi Misty,

 

Thanks for posting this. I need to forward it on to a friend of mine if

you don't mind. She thinks you can be a healthy vegetarian by just not

eating meat, and she always eats sandwiches made with Wonder bread,

spread with mustard and pickles. She eats that every single day. I've

been trying to educate her - maybe this article will help.

 

Carol M

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Misty L. Trepke [mistytrepke]

 

Kids & vegetarianism: Just toss together & mix well

By VANCE LEHMKUHL

Posted on Mon, Mar. 10, 2003