PETA Vegan Starter Kit 1 | Page 9

Responsible parents are anxious to instil in their children
healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime. A vegan diet fits
the bill perfectly since vegan foods are naturally cholesterolfree and generally low in saturated fat and high in fibre,
complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and other
essential nutrients. According to the Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics, “Appropriately planned
vegan … diets satisfy nutrient needs of infants,
children, and adolescents and
promote normal growth”.

Obviously, breast milk is meant for human babies. Cows’ milk is best for calves, not
human babies. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against giving cows’
milk to children under a year old. Dr Walter Willett, chair of the department of nutrition
at the Harvard School of Public Health, and the late Dr Frank Oski, former director of
paediatrics at Johns Hopkins University, have gone even further. Says Dr Willett:
“Humans have no nutritional requirement for animal milk, an evolutionarily recent
addition to the diet”. And Dr Oski once said: “There is no reason to drink cow’s milk at
Soup: © Nemanja Tomic/Dreamstime.com ∙ Oatmeal: © Ukrphoto/Dreamstime.com ∙ Chick’n sliders: © Gardein

>> Fit for Life!

Oranges: © Annakukhmar/Dreamstime.com ∙ Celery: © iStock.com/Lauri Patterson ∙ Baby food: © Corinna Gissemann/Dreamstime.com ∙ Pregnant woman: © iStock.com/sborisov

Vega n

ows’ Milk Is for
alves, Not

any time in your life. It was designed for calves, it was not designed for humans, and
we should all stop drinking it today, this afternoon”.

,
Mom s Right :
Eat Your Veggies!
Kids can get all the nutrients they need from fruits,
vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, legumes and
fortified bread, cereal and plant-based milk. The late
Dr Benjamin Spock, in Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care,
writes, “Children who grow up getting their nutrition from
plant foods rather than meats have a health advantage.
They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes,
high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer”.

Giving Your hild a
Healthy Start in Li fe

16

Foods

Love

Healthy vegan foods are ideal if you’re pregnant or planning to become

What kid doesn’t love peanut butter? Other kid-friendly

pregnant. After all, most of the foods that you’re told to avoid during

vegan foods include spaghetti with tomato sauce,

pregnancy and while you’re nursing – mercury-laden fish and shellfish,

fruit smoothies, vegan pizza, bean burritos,

undercooked meats and eggs and unpasteurised milk and cheeses –

vegetable soups, hummus, falafel, mashed or

are animal-derived. And physicians encourage all women – pregnant or

baked potatoes, guacamole, faux-chicken

otherwise – to eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and whole grains and to

nuggets, veggie burgers, veggie dogs and just

choose healthy, low-fat sources of protein. Folic acid, which helps prevent

about any vegetable that is roasted (it brings

birth defects, is naturally abundant in spinach, broccoli, carrots, beetroot,

out the sweetness) or puréed. For more tips,

corn, peanuts, beans, oranges, avocados and other plant foods.

visit PETA.org/Living.

Visit PETA.org.uk for more information.