I read a very sad thing today which was published on several blogs and news sites online. The following extract is from the news site Breitbart:
"Two vegans who fed their 11-month-old daughter only mother's milk The ambulance workers called the police because the child was pale and thin, weighing 5.7 kilos (12.5 pounds) compared to an average eight kilos for her age. The baby had only been fed on the milk of her mother, who was aged 37 at the time.An autopsy showed that Louise was suffering from a vitamin A and B12 deficiency which experts say increases a child's sensitivity to infection and can be due to an unbalanced diet.
"The problem of vitamin B12 deficiency could be linked to the mother's diet," said Anne-Laure Sandretto, deputy prosecutor in the city of Amiens where the trial is taking place.The couple has been charged with "neglect or food deprivation followed by death" and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted." Now loads of people on online forums have cried out that they think feeding your baby a vegan diet is equal to murdering him or her. People, let's get one thing straight: Kids in Europe and America do not usually suffer from starvation - it is the other way around. Kids here suffer from diabetes and teenage heart attacks. My fear is that this article will infuse some kind of false notion in people that eating a healthy vegan diet based on vegetables, grains and nuts is dangerous. Which it's not. The mom was clearly not eating a proper vegan diet since she was deficient in such vital vitamins and it is horrible that her baby had to die from not being properly fed due to the parents lack of knowledge. However, a vegan diet is not dangerous. It is far more dangerous to consume Big Mac's, french fries and greasy Bacon sandwiches. That will kill more kids than carrots and cashew nuts ever will.
