VEGY MUM, VEGY BABY??

[mica23]

Any vegy mums out there?Everyone keeps telling me its not fair (or good for her)to leave out meat out my babys diet but I just dont feel right giving it to her.Does anyone know where could I get some advice about it or a book I could buy or anything!!Help!!

[Madlentileater]

Hi- we are all vegetarian, don't worry, it's perfectly healthy, DS1 now 19 and huge! youingest LO id now 12 ao all the baby stuff seems a long time ago, I had a book by Rose Elliott called vegetarian mother and baby, probably a bit out of date now, I'm sure there is loads out there....have you tried the Vegetarian Society? If you have a partner is s/he vegetarian?if not, I guess that makes it harder, but really health wise there's not a problem. After all there are some places in the world where everyone is vegetarian, and they are fine! I know some people think it's 'not fair'....I think that's because they can't imagine how odd it would feel to feed your LO something you wouldn't eat yourself. How old is your baby?

[beansprout]

We are all veggie. Knowing what I do about how meat is produced I couldn't feed it to my children. There are plenty of people out there eating incredibly non-healthy diets that include meat. We really don't need it, and looking into alternatives and thinking seriously about a balanced diet can only be a good thing in my book.

FWIW, both of my children were big babies and are v healthy!!

[Brangelina]

Tell them it's not fair to feed her meat, what with global warming, hormones, antibiotics, unethical practices in animal husbandry, the increased risk of colon cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases etc. That should frighten them off.

Seriously though, there is no actual need for meat these days. We have moved on from being hunter gatherers and now have Sainsbury's/Tescos etc. It is perfectly feasible to eat well and healthily without meat. Millions of Hindus and Buddhists throughout the world cannot be wrong

[Finona]

My 2 are both veggie and doing fine. I really worried initially and got a couple of books: Sara Lewis - Vegetarian cooking for Kids and my favourite (takes you right through the stages, a bit like Annabel Karmel) Baby and Child Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Timperley. Approved by Vegetarian Society, published by Ebury Press.
I know that both sets of grandparents are pretty unhappy, but the proof is in 2 healthy happy kids, who have never tasted any meat.
Good websites for info are Veg. Society, PETA and Viva!
Good luck