There are some excellent posts here. I've been veggie from age 9 and my children - aged 6 and 3, have been veggie since birth. They have also been very healthy and had fewer illnesses than most of their friends.
Veggies frequently get accused of putting their kids at risk, but having chosen to avoid meat, why would I let my kids have it? IMHO it would be irresponsible to avoid it for myself and then feed it to my children. There is a whole list of nasty diseases (various cancers, heart disease, diabetes, etc) which are more prevalent in meat eaters than veggies.
There is also the issue of the amount of chemicals and hormones pumped into meat. Personally, I find the idea of feeding a baby meat quite sickening.
My parents eat meat and we often eat Sunday dinner with them, so my kids are very much aware that their diet is 'different.' I have explained to them why we don't eat meat (that we don't need to eat it and that I feel it's wrong to kill animals to eat) and they have accepted that. Ds will check ingredients in foods to decide whether he can eat them. They have occasionally chosen sweets or cakes with animal products in, and I have told them so - a couple of times they have wanted them anyway (and been allowed), usually they choose something else. I wouldn't be happy if they wanted to eat meat, rather than just lecithin or whey, or whatever, but that hasn't arisen yet. I won't ever cook meat for them, if they choose to eat meat when they are old enough to cook for themselves, then that is their decision, however, if I have achieved what I want to with my kids then that won't happen.
How can anyone find the term 'lump of dead cow' offensive, when that is exactly what meat is?