Family is against me for not feeding baby meat

[Foxtails]

Sorry if this has been brought up before, but could do with some advice please.

8 month old baby, stopped breastfeeding at 6 months. So far I have not fed anything with meat in it and do not plan to. I am vegetarian and have been for 8 years. DH is not veggie but does eat veggie meals in the house with me (his choice). For now, while my son has no way to make his own decisions, I won’t be feeding him meat. Once he is old enough to decide for himself, he can choose. We will always have vegetarian meals in the house but if he wants to eat it outside of the house that’s up to him and there will be no judgement from me.

It seems like absolutely none of my family members can accept this. My mum, dad, grandparents and also DHs parents have expressed to me how they think this is wrong. I have told them that as long as he is fed and is healthy then there really is no problem, and it’s up to me how I do this. It’s got to the point where it’s being brought up almost every time I see anyone because they are so so against it. I feel attacked. They are telling me not to force my views upon my child, but isn’t that what all parents do?! People parent their children how they think is best and in line with what they agree with. Everyone does this.

I am feeling upset and overwhelmed and feeling like i can’t go and see anyone without them starting this argument with me and I worry that they will feed him meat behind my back. Please could I have some advice on what to do and how to handle this? Has anyone been in this position?

Actually research shows that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds fosters greater diversity in gut bacteria compared to diets high in animal products.

Microbiome diversity is associated with improved immunity, reduced inflammation, and better overall health.

Its worth noting that the vegetarian diet is associated with lower risks of chronic diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, which may also reflect positively on long-term microbiome health.

The reality is you can eat a healthy balence diet as a veggie. That doesn’t mean some veggies don’t eat loads of processed crap as some meat eaters do - it’s all about balence.

Balanced nutrition is what is important, and that does not have to include meat.

Using the same logic the family have no right to give her a hard time over HER choices on how to bring up HER baby until he is at an age when she is happy for him to make his own choices...they should mind their own business and keep their opinions to themselves and the fact that they aren't doing so says more about them than it does about the OP or her husband! 🙄

Cross post

she better stay away from them if she has this much of hatred.

Why on earth would a baby need meat?

Why do this when you could use iron rich veg such as spinach, broccoli, cabbage, kale, watercress.

The body does not utilise protein from those sources in the same way it does meat.

She doesn't appear to have any hatred. Only a desire for her family to respect her choice - which is a pretty mainstream choice, really.

I replied to a comment, dint you see?

Yes. The quote function only quotes one post, though, not a chain of quoted posts. There was also nothing about hatred in the post you quoted.

If she hates, she can stay away. doesn't viceversa . happy?

I'm not sure where you're getting 'hate' from.

The OP has made a perfectly reasonable and mainstream parenting choice and would like her family to respect that. They aren't and she's asking for advice about navigating that. Nobody's hating anybody...

As said I replied to a comment , you can bring 100 others to confirm no hatred in that. no worries. move on

So, nobody's hating anybody then... Ok.

They need to wind their necks in.

Cant believe this is still going and OP is now being called a racist and a child abuser.🙄

I don’t think they were talking about protein from these sources, it was more a source of iron instead of resorting to artificial means.

This is MN. About par for the course once you get past the first few posts !!

Good old MN 😂

I’m not sure the conversation on whether it’s healthier or not to eat meat is really worthwhile, personally.
A meat eater can have a healthy diet as can a vegetarian. Both diets have pros and cons IMO.

Im not convinced that we can always get absolutely all of the vitamins and minerals we need from either diet. I remember reading somewhere that when we were hunter gatherers, we’d have been moving around literally all day and would therefore had consumed more calories as a result. When you consume fewer calories, it’s harder to get the right amounts of everything. I am a meat eater and my iron is still too low so I have to supplement.

eating chicken nuggets and ultra-processed meat products does nothing for your biome!

The OP asked for advice from us about how best to deal with her wider family, not for you (and others) to express your personal prejudices against vegetarianism.

I hope you're not a medical doctor.

I note that the majority of people suffering from a B12 deficiency in the UK are ominvores. Eating meat is certainly no guarantee that you'll automatically get all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients your body needs. In contrast, I've been told that my calcium and iron levels are high, on a completely vegan diet.

'The OP asked for advice from us about how best to deal with her wider family'

There have been posters un-necessarily made bad comments on other diets, OP seems enjoyed them too. So no clarity what she actually asked for 😂