US Scientist Criticises Vegan Diets for Children

A US Agricultural Research scientist has criticised parents who put their children on strict vegan diets. Lindsay Allen claims that Animal source foods contain some nutrients not found anywhere else.

Professor Allen said: "There have been sufficient studies clearly showing that when women avoid all animal foods, their babies are born small, they grow very slowly and they are developmentally retarded, possibly permanently."

"If you're talking about feeding young children, pregnant women and lactating women, I would go as far as to say it is unethical to withhold these foods [animal source foods] during that period of life."

She reserved her harshest words for parents who imposed a vegan lifestyle on their children and stopped them from eating meat, butter, cheese and drinking milk.

She went on to say "There's absolutely no question that it's unethical for parents to bring up their children as strict vegans."

Professor Allen also said "the damage to a child began while it was growing in the womb and continued once it had been born." She highlighted research among African schoolchildren suggesting as little as two spoonfuls of meat each day is enough to provide nutrients such as vitamin B12, zinc and iron.

544 children had been included in the study. They had been raised on diets consisting mainly of starchy, low-nutrition corn and bean staples lacking these micronutrients. This led to them being malnourished. Over the course of two years some of the children were fed 2oz of meat a day. Two other groups received either a cup of milk a day or an oil supplement containing the same amount of energy. The diet of a fourth group was left unaltered.

The children who were give the meat showed improved performance in problem solving and general intelligence tests at the end of the two years.

Her claims were immediately dismissed by the Vegan Society who insisted there was research available showing vegans were often healthier than meat eaters.