Guest guest Posted September 20, 2001 Report Share Posted September 20, 2001 Following are two letters responding to the recent news item. The first replies to the versions appearing in the English national press. The second refers to a very much more hostile article in The Scotsman. -------------------- The Vegan Society 7 Battle Road St Leonards-on-Sea East Sussex TN37 7AA info tel. 0845 45 88244 Sir, The tragic death of Areni Manuelyan highlights the profound dangers of letting ideology triumph over reality. Areni's parents appear to have been so convinced that their particular fruitarian diet was healthy that they could not respond to her declining health in time to prevent her death. Your article " Vegan parents spared jail after letting baby die " could however give the impression that a vegan diet in itself is an irresponsible diet that endangers children. This is not the case. The Vegan Society has provided advice on appropriate vegan diets for over 50 years. It has enthusiastically collaborated with nutritional scientists in investigating the healthfulness of vegan diets, particularly for children to whom we all owe a very special duty of care. Prof. Tom Sanders of King's College London concluded that " if known pitfalls are avoided, the growth and development of children reared on both vegan and vegetarian diets appears normal. " The known pitfalls are failing to include a reliable source of B12, such as fortified soya milk or nutritional yeast, and relying too much on low calorie fruits and vegetables so that the diet is insufficiently calorie dense for a young child. Thousands of healthy children raised on a vegan diet confirm the above advice. Research has also confirmed the beneficial effects of a vegan diet in reducing risk of heart disease. An appropriate vegan diet is therefore a safe, compassionate and caring way to raise a child. Yours faithfully, Stephen Walsh Vegan Society Trustee On behalf of the Vegan Society Council ------------------------------ http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/health.cfm?id=108668 & keyword=the Dear Sir, The article " Fed on ignorance " takes the tragedy of Areni Manuelyan's death and uses it as a launching pad for a general attack on vegan diets. " Independent researchers say some vegans and vegetarians can lack necessary nutrients such as B vitamins and iron. " This statement would be equally valid if the word " people " was substituted for " vegans and vegetarians " . It is therefore misleading. Within any type of diet inappropriate choices can lead to insufficient levels of many important nutrients. Vegans can readily meet the UK recommended intakes of all nutrients by following the recommendations of the Vegan Society and other responsible nutritional advisers. Vegans also show lower levels of heart disease than their meat-eating counterparts reflecting their lower cholesterol levels due to the avoidance of animal products. The suggestion the protein found in soya is of a different quality to that from animal sources is true, but not in the adverse sense suggested. The American Heart Association recommends the consumption of soy protein due to its cholesterol lowering properties. The same cannot be said for meat, dairy products or eggs. The Vegan Society has provided advice on appropriate vegan diets for over 50 years. It has enthusiastically collaborated with independent nutritional scientists in investigating the healthfulness of vegan diets, particularly for children to whom we all owe a very special duty of care. Prof. Tom Sanders of Kings College London concluded that if known pitfalls are avoided, the growth and development of children reared on both vegan and vegetarian diets appears normal. The known pitfalls are failing to include a reliable source of B12, such as fortified soya milk or nutritional yeast, and relying too much on low calorie fruits and vegetables so that the diet is insufficiently calorie-dense for a young child. The tragic death of Areni arose not from any problem with vegan diets as such but from failure to provide suitable calorie-dense solid foods to supplement breast milk. Areni's parents adhered to an extreme diet that bore no relation to Vegan Society recommendations. Parents feeding their children an appropriate vegan diet can be confident that they are meeting their nutritional needs while providing them with protection from heart disease and from animal-borne infections ranging from salmonella to vCJD. Given Scotland's leading position in the heart disease stakes you do not serve your readers well by denigrating the healthfulness of appropriate vegan diets. yours faithfully, Stephen Walsh On behalf of The Vegan Society Council Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2001 Report Share Posted September 20, 2001 Did they get printed? vclarke wrote: > > Following are two letters responding to the recent news item. The first > replies to the versions appearing in the English national press. The > second refers to a very much more hostile article in The Scotsman. > > -------------------- > The Vegan Society > 7 Battle Road > St Leonards-on-Sea > East Sussex TN37 7AA > info > tel. 0845 45 88244 > > > Sir, > > The tragic death of Areni Manuelyan highlights the profound dangers of > letting ideology triumph over reality. Areni's parents appear to have > been so convinced that their particular fruitarian diet was healthy that > they could not respond to her declining health in time to prevent her > death. Your article " Vegan parents spared jail after letting baby die " > could however give the impression that a vegan diet in itself is an > irresponsible diet that endangers children. This is not the case. > > The Vegan Society has provided advice on appropriate vegan diets for > over 50 years. It has enthusiastically collaborated with nutritional > scientists in investigating the healthfulness of vegan diets, > particularly for children to whom we all owe a very special duty of > care. Prof. Tom Sanders of King's College London concluded that " if > known pitfalls are avoided, the growth and development of children > reared on both vegan and vegetarian diets appears normal. " The known > pitfalls are failing to include a reliable source of B12, such as > fortified soya milk or nutritional yeast, and relying too much on low > calorie fruits and vegetables so that the diet is insufficiently calorie > dense for a young child. > > Thousands of healthy children raised on a vegan diet confirm the above > advice. Research has also confirmed the beneficial effects of a vegan > diet in reducing risk of heart disease. An appropriate vegan diet is > therefore a safe, compassionate and caring way to raise a child. > > Yours faithfully, > > Stephen Walsh > Vegan Society Trustee > On behalf of the Vegan Society Council > > ------------------------------ > > http://www.thescotsman.co.uk/health.cfm?id=108668 & keyword=the > > Dear Sir, > > The article " Fed on ignorance " takes the tragedy of Areni Manuelyan's > death and uses it as a launching pad for a general attack on vegan > diets. " Independent researchers say some vegans and vegetarians can lack > necessary nutrients such as B vitamins and iron. " This statement would > be equally valid if the word " people " was substituted for " vegans and > vegetarians " . It is therefore misleading. Within any type of diet > inappropriate choices can lead to insufficient levels of many important > nutrients. > > Vegans can readily meet the UK recommended intakes of all nutrients by > following the recommendations of the Vegan Society and other responsible > nutritional advisers. Vegans also show lower levels of heart disease > than their meat-eating counterparts reflecting their lower cholesterol > levels due to the avoidance of animal products. > > The suggestion the protein found in soya is of a different quality to > that from animal sources is true, but not in the adverse sense > suggested. The American Heart Association recommends the consumption of > soy protein due to its cholesterol lowering properties. The same cannot > be said for meat, dairy products or eggs. > > The Vegan Society has provided advice on appropriate vegan diets for > over 50 years. It has enthusiastically collaborated with independent > nutritional scientists in investigating the healthfulness of vegan > diets, particularly for children to whom we all owe a very special duty > of care. Prof. Tom Sanders of Kings College London concluded that if > known pitfalls are avoided, the growth and development of children > reared on both vegan and vegetarian diets appears normal. The known > pitfalls are failing to include a reliable source of B12, such as > fortified soya milk or nutritional yeast, and relying too much on low > calorie fruits and vegetables so that the diet is insufficiently > calorie-dense for a young child. > > The tragic death of Areni arose not from any problem with vegan diets as > such but from failure to provide suitable calorie-dense solid foods to > supplement breast milk. Areni's parents adhered to an extreme diet that > bore no relation to Vegan Society recommendations. Parents feeding their > children an appropriate vegan diet can be confident that they are > meeting their nutritional needs while providing them with protection > from heart disease and from animal-borne infections ranging from > salmonella to vCJD. > > Given Scotland's leading position in the heart disease stakes you do not > serve your readers well by denigrating the healthfulness of appropriate > vegan diets. > > yours faithfully, > Stephen Walsh > On behalf of The Vegan Society Council > > > To send an email to - > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2001 Report Share Posted September 20, 2001 Y'know what's really annoyed me about the news coverage surrounding this - > The tragic death of Areni Manuelyan highlights the profound dangers of > letting ideology triumph over reality. As anyone who regularly read " The Vegan " will know, supposed nutritionists are notorious for not being able to give advice to parents on bringing up their children as vegans - their attitude always seems to be that it's impossible - I wonder if the nutritionists in this case gave any useful advice to the parents, or if they just told them it was impossible and let them get on with it???? BB Peter --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.276 / Virus Database: 145 - Release 03/09/01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 21, 2001 Report Share Posted September 21, 2001 Does anyone know if any of these papers actually printed the Vegan Soc response? I guess that The Times didn't, because they only print exclusive letters. They didn't print mine either . Peter wrote: > > Y'know what's really annoyed me about the news coverage surrounding this - > > > The tragic death of Areni Manuelyan highlights the profound dangers of > > letting ideology triumph over reality. > > As anyone who regularly read " The Vegan " will know, supposed nutritionists > are notorious for not being able to give advice to parents on bringing up > their children as vegans - their attitude always seems to be that it's > impossible - I wonder if the nutritionists in this case gave any useful > advice to the parents, or if they just told them it was impossible and let > them get on with it???? > > BB > Peter > > --- > Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. > Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). > Version: 6.0.276 / Virus Database: 145 - Release 03/09/01 > > > To send an email to - > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 21, 2001 Report Share Posted September 21, 2001 , Dr Ian McDonald <ian.mcdonald@i...> wrote: > Does anyone know if any of these papers actually printed the Vegan Soc > response? > > I guess that The Times didn't, because they only print exclusive > letters. They didn't print mine either . > You could ask Stephen if he knows if any have been printed. stephen_walsh Lesley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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