Vegan for Life - Jack Norris [62]
If you met Ellen, Ciera, Tyler, Will, and Maya, you wouldn’t worry about whether children can be vegan—and healthy. These—and other “real vegan children”—are featured on the VeganHealth.org website, and they are proof that kids grow and thrive on diets free of all animal foods.
Sixteen-year-old Ellen is the daughter of Matt Ball, co-founder of Vegan Outreach, and his wife, Anne Green. Ellen has never tasted meat, dairy, or eggs, and she says that food has never been a problem. Her favorite foods? “I love most fake meats, especially fake chicken. In particular, we get fake drumsticks from a local restaurant that are absolutely delicious. I like my dad’s cooking as well—homemade bread and pizza, ‘French fries,’ and baked carrots, pancakes and tofu scramble. And he makes the best chocolate peanut-butter pie. For everyday stuff, I love pasta. I’m also really fond of dried blueberries—they’re my favorite snack.”
Ellen’s mother says that Ellen takes a multivitamin with iron and often takes flaxseed oil and a calcium/vitamin D supplement. She takes a sublingual vitamin B12 supplement twice a week.
And there is no doubt that Ellen is thriving on her vegan diet. She takes honor and AP classes, gets straight A’s at a top high school, and has an IQ over 140 (higher than either of her parents). In her sophomore year, Ellen scored a perfect 800 on the SAT Math II subject test and a perfect 5 on the AP European History test. And Ellen isn’t just smart—she’s also an athlete who scored four varsity letters in her first two years of high school (cross-country and track), running on two regional championship cross-country teams and the 2009 regional championship four by 800-meter relay team.
Ellen admits that there were social challenges associated with being vegan in elementary and middle school. “Some kids were rude about it, talking about all the meat they ate and the deer they shot last weekend, but high school has been much, much better. I’ve met quite a few vegetarians, and a lot more people are sympathetic and curious.”
Tyler, Will, and Maya (ages nine, seven, and three), whose parents, Lesley and Ray Parker-Rollins, have raised them in a vegan household, are living examples of happy, healthy vegan children. Says their mom, “I love that our children do not believe that animals are here for our use, and I think their beliefs rub off on other people even when they don’t realize it. I also make sure that my children know that they can come to me with any questions, concerns, or ideas they may have regarding their experience living vegan in a non-vegan world.”
Lesley frequently downloads information on nutrition from Vegan Outreach, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Dr. Michael Greger to give to skeptical doctors, teachers, coaches, grandparents, and friends. “This way, they know I am making informed choices for my children, and it will educate them on the benefits of a vegan diet at the same time.”
Lesley says that her freezer is always stocked with vegan cupcakes and cookies for the many birthday parties that come up in the classroom or at someone’s home. Her children also have a shelf of vegan snacks at school to enjoy during snack time. They also enjoy veganized versions of some of the kid-friendly staples like chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese, pizza, and burgers.
“I wish I could say that their favorite foods were lentil loaf, kale soup, and butternut squash, but they aren’t. However, they will eat these or anything else that is put in front of them since they want to get dessert!” Lesley says that all three kids love their dad’s pancakes and waffles for breakfast, and like most children, they enjoy pizza and sweets. Other favorites are peanut butter and jelly