iPalimpsest

I agree. This article made me so made, it made me not want to read the NY times. I know it was an opinion paper, but she made so many claims without offering any proof or sources. I agree it sounded like she was being paid by the meat/dairy industry. I hope to raise my children as vegans, and articles like this will help with people like my mother who are sure that vegan diets lead to death. I hate ignorance!

Nina is not trying to persude you or any person to eat a diet of milkshakes,slices of pizza and greasy burgers...
Nina is not an irresponsible person by stating eating proteins and fat as well as grains and vegetables are what make people healthy, especially children.
Children are obese in this country that is true as well as many adults yet it's not because they are eating hamburgers or milk, on the contrary soy protien isolate, high-fructose corn syrup and various other sugars, refined grains (wonder bread) and vegetable oils. Not to mention too much television and computer blogging!
You're parents fed you soy because they didn't realize that there were and are alternatives www.realmilk.com. I had trouble breastfeeding my son but didn't want to feed him canned formula, so i dug deep and found an alternative...my son has incredible strength of body and mind; And rarely gets sick. (By the way some parents do grind up meat i.e. liver among other ingrediants as a formula substitute with amazing results)
You said this child died of malnutrition, not of being vegan...so, my question to you is how did the child then become malnurished, if not directly because of his diet which was in fact vegan?

So it appears to me that you, no offense, are the one who is under-researched. Mainstream media hype and pharmaceutical companies have worked their magic on millions of people you are not the only one...
Check out the following web site if you're interested in research
www.westonaprice.org (no the site does not accept subsidies from the meat or dairy industry...nor does Nina)

It's possible raw milk would work for babies whose bodies don't produce enough lactase, because raw milk doesn't lose the bacteria that produce it, when it's pasteurized. It still wouldn't work for lactose allergy. However, this debate isn't what Nina wrote about. The title of her article is "Death by Veganism."

Tons of babies are fed soy formula. There are parents who are vegan when they breastfeed, and raise their babies and toddlers vegan, and the kids aren't dead, and they thrive.

This kid did not die because he was vegan. He died because he parents fed him apple juice and soy milk (different from soy formula).

If I fed a baby a half ounce of cow's blood (or ground-up beef jerky) every single day, he would die, but not because it was fed meat, simply because he was malnourished. Would you say the baby died from being fed an omnivorous diet? I wouldn't, yet you somehow let Nina get away with making a parallel argument.

I completely agree that high-fructose corn syrup, wonder bread and hydrogenated oils aren't healthy. I think many vegans would agree with you-- especially since wonder bread and most refined sugar isn't considered vegan.

"We have been indoctrinated since early childhood to believe that animal protein is a nutrient to be held in high esteem. We have been brought up with the idea that these foods are good for us if they help us grow bigger and faster. Nothing could be farther from the truth." (Dr. Fuhrman)

Kate's correct. I won't add any more because her logic provides everything necessary.

Still, there is one piece of evidence worth considering. Ms. Planck provided a quote on her website from one of her sources, a family practitioner. Her source clearly states that it's possible to raise a healthy vegan child. The doctor expresses concern that many vegan parents don't bother to do the work necessary to provide their kids with balanced nutrition. That's no doubt true, but it's equally true of parents who feed their kids meat. Ms. Planck clearly had a predetermined conclusion. (Her illogical arguments proved that.)

Proper nutrition is the issue here, not how people achieve that nutrition. The vegan vs. omni debate is worth having, but it's secondary.

This article was irresponsible and poorly researched. This baby died 'cause it's parents were idiots. Has Nina researched how many Omnivorous baby's die each year because of poor parenting. Though Kate explained herself quite clearly, Sarah still said, "You said this child died of malnutrition, not of being vegan...so, my question to you is how did the child then become malnurished, if not directly because of his diet which was in fact vegan?" Let me make something clear to you Sarah, infants need breastmilk or formula. Babies can not digest the whole protiens contained in milk (raw, soy, or otherwise). And yes Vegan's need to pay attention to not depriving their child of important fatty acids especially during huge brain development stages during the first years of life. I find Vegan's to be much more aware of their own nutritional needs, and those of their children than omnivores. Our children are thriving. Do I expect them to be smaller than their classmates, and begin puberty later, yup, and thank goodness for that. I was not raised Vegan, and I was the smallest kid in class. My wife being small as well, I'd expect our kids to follow suit. On my wife's vegan diet both our children were born at healthy weights, and not only was she not animic, her hermaticrit levels were very high throughtout her pregnacy. We have many friends that gave birth to and are raising health vegan babies. We also see huge American babies all around us, and wonder what chance those kids will ever have to have a healthy life. The Times was shockingly irresponsible for printing the article. If their goal was to garner sales and attention, instead of honest reporting then they should change their name to the Post.