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.