American Academy of Pediatrics: 'Multiple experts have concluded independently that vegan diets can be followed safely by infants and children without compromise of nutrition or growth and with some notable health benefits'.
EPHRAT LIVNI: ‘The Royal Academy of Medicine of Belgium has recently issued an opinion that will make it possible to imprison parents who enforce a vegan diet on their children. The academy determined that veganism for kids is “unethical” because it can lead to health problems for growing children… The animal-product-free diet isn’t technically prohibited, and the ruling doesn’t necessarily equate veganism with child neglect. However, it will make it easier to prosecute parents who impose the strict diet and whose children have health problems.
Children can follow a vegan diet if it’s accompanied by medical supervision, regular blood tests, and vitamin supplements, Belgian pediatricians concluded. However, parents who don’t follow through on the additional requirements risk two years in prison, fines, and the possibility that their children will be removed from their homes if the kids do have associated health issues…
However, opinions on this matter vary worldwide. The American Academy of Pediatrics, for example, is not opposed to vegan diets. “Although there have been case reports of children failing to thrive or developing cobalamin deficiency on vegan diets, these are rare exceptions,” the academy notes on its website. “Multiple experts have concluded independently that vegan diets can be followed safely by infants and children without compromise of nutrition or growth and with some notable health benefits”…
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) certainly took issue with the ruling in Belgium. Dawn Carr, director of vegan initiatives for PETA in the UK, said it was “a load of ignorant codswallop.” Carr argues that meat-based diets are the real danger to health, leading to hardened arteries in adulthood that cause stroke, brain aneurysms, and heart attacks. “A well-planned vegan diet is perfect for babies and children,” she said’. SOURCE…
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