About one week ago the US-American
animal advocacy group Mercy for Animals – popular with vegan Hollywood
celebrities and pop musicians like Moby – published a one-minute
video titled “Can Babies Be Vegan?”.
It is a short video, but it is filled
with half-truths – to put it politely. When an organization distributes
information that is incorrect (and dangerous) I can see two possible reasons for
this:
FIRST POSSIBILITY: The organization
doesn’t know that this information is wrong. One might call this “ignorance”.
SECOND POSSIBILITY: The organization
knows that this information is wrong but they pretend that it is correct.
Anyone would call this “lying”, right?
The following is a complete
transcript of this very short video – transcript in blue:
“The American Dietetic Association says vegan diets “are
appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle”. That includes
babies.”
COMMENT: This indicates that the
FIRST POSSIBILITY (see above) is the one that fits here and that Mercy for
Animals really did not research the topic at all (?). The American Dietetic
Association (ADA) renamed itself Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) a few
years ago (2012). And the AND’s most recent position paper on vegetarian (and
vegan) diets is from 2016, and it can be found here. It was written by
none other than vegan nutrition pioneer Vesanto
Melina and the position paper states:
“It is the position of the Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics that appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful,
nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the
prevention and treatment of certain diseases. These diets are appropriate for
all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence,
older adulthood, and for athletes. […] Vegans need reliable sources of vitamin B-12, such as
fortified foods or supplements. […]
Vegans must regularly consume
reliable sources – meaning B-12-fortified foods or
B-12-containing supplements – or
they could become deficient, as shown in case studies of vegan infants,
children, and adults.
[…]
Pregnant and Lactating Women
Limited research indicates that
where food access is adequate, vegetarian pregnancy outcomes, such as birth weight
and pregnancy duration, are similar to those in nonvegetarian pregnancy. Use of
a vegetarian diet in the first trimester resulted in lower risk of excessive
gestational weight gain in one study. Maternal diets high in plant foods may
reduce the risk of complications of pregnancy, such as gestational diabetes. The
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ position and practice papers on “Nutrition
and Lifestyle for a Healthy Pregnancy Outcome” provide appropriate guidance for
pregnant vegetarians. Special
consideration is required for iron, zinc, vitamin B-12, and EPA/DHA. Depending
on dietary choices, pregnant vegetarians may have higher iron intakes than nonvegetarians
and are more likely to use iron supplements. Because of the potential for
inadequate
intakes and the adverse effects of iron
deficiency, a low-dose (30 mg) iron supplement is recommended in pregnancy. The
recommended amount of iron could be provided via a prenatal supplement, a
separate iron supplement, or a combination of these.
There is insufficient evidence that
zinc intake and status in vegetarian pregnancies differ from nonvegetarian pregnancies.
Due to the increased zinc requirements of pregnancy and the lower
bioavailability in diets based on high-phytate grains and legumes, increasing
zinc intake and using food preparation techniques that improve bioavailability
are recommended. Pregnant
and lactating vegetarians need regular and adequate dietary and/or supplemental
sources of vitamin B-12.
Infants of vegetarian women have lower
plasma DHA concentrations and breast milk of vegetarians is lower in DHA. These
n-3 fatty acids can be synthesized to some extent from a-linolenic acid, but
conversion rates are low (though somewhat enhanced in pregnancy). Pregnant and lactating
vegetarians may benefit from direct sources of EPA and DHA derived from
microalgae.
Infants, Children, and Adolescents
Exclusive breastfeeding is
recommended for the first 6 months. If breastfeeding is not possible,
commercial infant formula should be used as the primary beverage for the first
year.
Complementary foods [foods after weaning] should
be rich in energy, protein, iron, and zinc, and may include hummus, tofu,
well-cooked legumes, and mashed avocado. Full fat, fortified soy milk, or dairy
milk can be started as early as 1 year of age for toddlers who are growing
normally and eating a variety of foods. Vegetarian children and teens
are at lower risk than their nonvegetarian peers for overweight and obesity.
[…]
Nutrients that may require attention in the planning of nutritionally adequate
diets for young vegetarians include iron, zinc, vitamin B-12, and for some,
calcium and vitamin D.
[…] Vitamin B-12 intake of
vegan infants and children should be assessed and fortified foods and/or supplements
used as needed to insure adequacy.”
“Most
medical authorities strongly recommend breastfeeding. And – yep – breastmilk is
vegan.”
COMMENT: Yes!
“Once
babies are weaned their first foods are usually vegan: fruits, veggies and baby
cereal.”
COMMENT: The first foods might
typically be vegan but very soon afterwards – typically – meat and fish and
possibly eggs are given to the baby. Meat and fish provide protein, iron, zinc,
and most importantly
vitamin B12. Sea fish also provides iodine. It is very important that extra care is taken that vegan babies
receive enough vitamin B12 and iodine.
The American
Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends a diet including meat, fish and eggs
as their standard recommendation: “Within a few months of starting solid foods,
your baby's daily diet should include a variety of foods, such as breast milk,
formula, or both; meats; cereal; vegetables; fruits; eggs; and fish.”
The Academy
of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND) recommends a diet including meat and fish
as their standard recommendation, including “Cooked and pureed meat or poultry”
at 6 months of age and including “Well-cooked, minced or finely chopped meat,
poultry or fish” at 9 months of age.
Both the AAP and the AND accept well-planned vegan diets for
babies though – unlike the most recent document
on “weaning foods” (complementary foods) by the World Health Organization (WHO)
which is from 2003 and which rejects vegetarian diets for babies. Luckily, no
one reads these really long WHO PDFs – except for big decision makers who
advice governments and large medical organizations globally. I sincerely hope
that the next time the WHO publishes a document on complementary feeding it
will include the statement that well-planned and adequately supplemented vegan diets are safe and
possibly beneficial for babies. But if large vegan organizations keep
contributing to vegan babies suffering from vitamin B12 or iodine deficiencies
then that is unlikely to happen.
“Children
can get all the nutrients they need including protein, calcium and iron from
healthy plant-based foods like beans, grains, fruits, and vegetables.”
COMMENT: This is misleading and
dangerous. Vegan babies,
or any other vegan, cannot
get enough vitamin B12 (or iodine) from beans, grains, fruits or vegetables.
Iodine could be obtained from sea vegetables but due to the potentially very
high iodine content (toxic) I would not recommend sea vegetables for vegan
babies at all.
“Milk
and eggs are common allergens for kids, and studies show milk does not help
kids grow strong bones.”
COMMENT: This is what the AND writes:
“Current evidence does not indicate needing to wait beyond 4 to 6 months before
introducing potentially allergy-causing foods such as eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts
and fish.”
“Plus,
dairy consumption in early childhood is linked to type 1 diabetes.”
COMMENT: The evidence for this is extremely weak (also
see here).
“Later
in life meat consumption is linked to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and
other diseases while plant-based diets are linked to lower risks of all these
illnesses.”
COMMENT: This could be true.
Studies
show that eating habits are largely set in childhood. Don’t all kids deserve
the healthiest diet right from the start?”
COMMENT: Yes, exactly! Don’t vegan
kids deserve not suffering brain damage caused by vitamin B12 (example 1 from Italy, example 2 from Turkey) or
iodine deficiency (see here
and here for two
cases of vegan babies with iodine deficiency, and here for the connection
between iodine deficiency and brain damage)?
I am convinced that well-planned,
adequately fortified vegan diets are excellent for babies and everyone else.
I am also convinced that there have
been more than enough cases of severely and mildly vitamin B12 deficient,
vitamin D deficient and iodine deficient vegan babies. We know that the first
two (B12 and iodine deficiency) can be very dangerous and lead to severe and
irreversible brain damage. Vitamin B12 deficiency during pregnancy or in babies
can also result in stillbirths and death.
I am also convinced that all vegan
children have a moral right to adequate nutrition, and that leaders of vegan
organizations who cannot see this should resign today.
Half-truths about vegan diets for
babies can seriously harm vegan babies – please do listen.
For a great guide on feeding vegan
kids read the article Feeding
Vegan Kids by Reed Mangels.
From "Feeding Vegan Kids":
