Vegan Kids: Natural Compassion
Published on January 4, 2010 by admin · 12 Comments
Three year-old Rasine was recently offered a piece of cake while at a friend’s birthday party. Before accepting, she asked “Is this vegan?” Vegan since birth, Rasine didn’t cry or complain when she found out the cake had eggs and milk in it. She just said, “OK!” and moved on.
Proud parent Ryan MacMichael writes about his inspiring daughter in his blog. He explains, “It’s easy to fall into that trap of thinking raising your kids vegan is somehow depriving them of the ‘experience’ of eating meat or having a piece of birthday cake with eggs in it. But it’s not. Her inquisitive nature and her enthusiasm about veganism remind me that we’re not depriving her. We’re nurturing her natural compassion and she’s teaching us that kids shouldn’t be underestimated.”
During a recent visit to a relative’s house, Rasine saw bacon being cooked up for breakfast and said “We don’t eat that because it’s not vegan and it hurts animals.” Her teachers say she’s been spreading the word at school too, telling everyone about veganism and how she likes animals.
The adage of “Put your kid in a playpen with a carrot and and a bunny and see if she eats the bunny and plays with the carrot or vice versa” couldn’t ring more true. Our childhood instincts of “Wait. WHAT am I eating?!” need to be more often tapped into and held dear. Kindness is innate, don’t ignore it away. Being aware is a marvelous gift; share it and savor it. We can learn so much from children about instincts.
Check out this short film by our homeboy Joshua Katcher, aka The Discerning Brute to inspire your little veggies;
via meatoutmondays.org.
Tags: bacon, Joshua Katcher, kids and bacon, Meat Out Mondays, raising vegan babies, Raising vegan children, Ryan MacMichael, The Dis, Vegan Babies, Vegan Children, Vegan Kids, vegan newborns, vegetarian kids
Readers Comments (12)
[...] This post was Twitted by GirlieGirlArmy [...]
This reminded me of when I was a litle kid,maybe 5 or 6 years old and my mum was trying to make me eat veal and I just wouldn’t,cause I HATED it.She says she couldn’t make me eat it as a baby,either,even processed like all baby food is,no matter what herb or spice or extra stuff (like potatos) she put in it.I wasn’t raised vegan,not even vegeterian(I first read a book on being vegeterian when I was 16 or 17)but sometimes,when I think of some things like this (or how much I hated eggs,for instance)I really believe that,sometimes,when we’re kids,we know better…
My son is seven now and was raised as a vegan from birth. He is very proud of what makes him different and doesn’t mind being the “token vegan” in his classroom. I agree that we don’t focus on the “don’t's” as that sets up a mentality of deprivation so we focus on abundance instead. We have also worked to cultivate a community of vegan families in our area, so we have monthly potlucks and playdates with peers who are being raised with similar values. He doesn’t look at being vegan as a negative at all: it sets him apart in a positive way. I think it’s a great start in life: not only is he not contributing to cruelty to animals, but he’s learning to live his life purposefully. It’s just very naturally integrated to him and his vegan peers.
Marla — I’m jealous that you’ve found a community of parents raising vegan kids! I think, if one STARTS raising kids vegan, then it’s much easier than trying to CHANGE them to being vegan (which I’m attempting, without my husband on board). We’re a adaptable feast family (there’s a cookbook by the same name, BTW), and the kids know the difference between omnivore, vegetarian and vegan, and they often eat vegetarian, and less often, vegan entrees. I would be SO HAPPY if I found more parents to hang out with who were trying to do what I’m doing; it’s a lonely road when the only vegans you know are here on the internet! My kids’ friends think I am very weird; my husband tries everything I make, but won’t go totally vegan and refuses to force the kids to do so. Obviously, the kids aren’t going to be if the parents aren’t on the same page…for me, it’s more about health than about animals, though I of course see why many vegans are primarily committed to the diet for animal rights’ reasons.
The little girl described in the blog is VERY special; vegan or not, most kids that age would have a hard time not being able to eat the birthday cake. I’m not sure if we should all assume that her easy-going nature is due to her diet; I’m sure you could find plenty of examples of vegan kids who would be very sad to have to pass up the cake!
Thanks for posting our video!
Just one correction, the official director/producer was Melissa Fornabaio.
(yours truly was the shooter and editor)
This is a great article! I can’t tell you how many times I hear people say “it’s fine for adults to choose veganism, but they should never subject their kids to that lifestyle! They NEED a cow’s milk to be healthy and they NEED meat protein to grow”. This is such a horrible and outdated myth. Thanks for clearing it up and being awesome, Chlo!
Elaine, I understand where you are coming from because I know a lot of people in the same boat – parents are not in synch on the vegan thing – and it can be complicated. Our vegan family network is in the Chicago area, but you can check on vegfamily.com’s message board to see if there are any in your area. If not, just post your interest in starting one locally. There are probably others looking for support in your area as well. How old are your children? I may be unrealistic but my belief is that if this is how you want to raise your children, you should just do it. Some people have an out-of-the-house clause, meaning they eat animal products out of the house, as an interim measure. Good luck to you!
Marla — Thanks for the words of encouragement. My kids are 5, 10 and 13. Predictably, the older ones are giving me a lot of pushback and I’m not sure, given the OTHER issues that I also have with them (typical ones for their ages) that I want to add diet to the list. Particularly since their Dad isn’t on board…would be MUCHO easier if he and I agreed about this. (He loves to experiment with food and doesn’t actually eat much meat — never has — but he’s not for going totally vegan.) My approach, for now, is to prepare foods that we all like that just happen to be vegan. I eat vegan 85% of the time (other 15% veg) and they probably do 50% of the time. But they don’t know that. (SSHH!! Don’t tell them!)
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by GirlieGirlArmy: Cultivating our Natural Compassion: Learning From Vegan Kids! http://girliegirlarmy.com/blog/20100104/vegan-kids-natural-compassion/...
Our parents raised us right!
Major and Jet King
Proud of my compassionate sons.(M & J)
I think its bizarre that people have asked me if I think they “sneak” eating corpses when nobody is watching. The boys look at me sideways when I’ve told them of that comment. They never cried over passing on the gummy bears….. and now, young teens, – they carefully select their sneakers.. they read labels… and they are incredibly strong, healthy, and tough!
Cynthia King http://cynthiakingdance.com
God, that video just wants to make me have kids now and bring more happy vegans into the world. :) The finace isn’t vegetarian, but he is on board with raising the kids vegan, thankfully…hopefully he doesn’t change his mind in the next ten years, before we’ll actually starting having little ones.
I couldn’t agree more Elaine- would be much easier with peer support. I have a one year old and a meat-eating husband who has compromised with me that our son will not eat red meat for now at least. I never want him to go to college feeling he’s veg because his mom made him but I do want to educate him and pray that he will make the choice to be veg (I am vegetarian and try to do vegan when it’s easy – I know that’s lame but it’s true). I feel that not having the ‘cravings’ for burgers and such will make his decision easier. I became veg at a young age when I decided I didn’t like the idea of where my meat came from. I have never once looked at someone else’s food and craved it and I think that helps me stick to it a lot. I literally don’t even think about it.
I think focusing on the positives is a good tactic. And that’s such a true analogy- would the kid eat the rabbit and play with the carrot?
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On a side note – CHLOE AND THE GIRLY GIRL ARMY – THANK YOU for making the email blast SOOOOOOO much easier to read!!