Vegan diets for babies and toddlers

[Anquetil]

Is it possible to start out your baby as a vegan? I would love to hear from anyone who is doing it right now...

Def possible but I haven't done it myself (my dc are vegetarian). Try the Vegan Society for advice?

This page has lots of info

I know one of the recommendations is to bf for as long as possible.

Baby is 5 weeks old. I am a vegan and have been for 10 years and she will be too when the time comes for weaning. Vegan Society publish a good book called 'Feeding your vegan infant with confidence' (or something similar) which I would recommend.

Must be doing something right - her weight has jumped from 9th centile to 25th today.

Really stupid question, but if a vegan breastfeeds, is this still a vegan diet for the baby?

Yes of course!

So, maybe I don't understand the definition of vegan. Same species milk is OK, but not other species?

Here is the definition fro the Vegan Society:
"a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude ? as far as is possible and practical ? all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals."

As breastfeeding your child is entirely voluntary I would guess no exploitation is involved. Also you have to bear in mind that the production of milk involves cows having (in general) a calf every year, and most of those calves are used in the meat industry, so if you drink milk you are contributing to the death of animals.

I'm not a vegan btw, but a happy omnivore, but I do think that the principles of veganism are more consistent than those of vegetarianism.

Hi guys,

I think this is a really interesting subject. I work for a documentary-making company and right now I am trying to get a feel for what it's like bringing up kids on a vegan diet given that we are such a non-raw society. We are interested in following the lives of vegan families to learn about the positives and negatives, challenges and triumphs faced by raw food families in today's world. Does this sound like a good idea? Would anyone be willing to speak to me and share your experiences? Let me know what you think! You can get hold of me at [email protected] I'd really appreciate any feedback.

my older 3 were all raised as vegans from birth. It was pretty easy too.

Claud:

1. go to the meeja requests area and pay
2. I think you need to clarify your research a little. You appear to have a confused brief - vegan or raw food (not the same)?