Children

‘So Your Kid Wants to Go Vegan… What Next?’ ∞

October 11, 2019

Jessica Scott-Reid at Tenderly:

“When children and youth realize what’s happening to animals and the planet it can be overwhelming,” she says. “A lot of children and youth are reporting that they are experiencing climate anxiety.”

[…]

As Dr. Fergusson concludes, not only can a plant based diet be physically safe and healthy for young people, but allowing children to eat and live in a way that may better align with their personal ethics, can also be psychologically beneficial.

“It may help them to reduce some of the anxiety they feel around the current state of the planet, and as they become aware of the state of animals within animal agriculture. Knowing that they are not personally contributing to that system and that they are taking a stand ethically, may be comforting and empowering to them.”

Thinking about food is another opportunity to be anxious. As this young generation becomes more informed through the internet, it’s hard to not feel sympathy and a related tension for action or inaction on almost every social issue. There are problems all around us, but now it’s a question of where people want to focus their energy, their exposure, and inevitably their life.

‘How I Got My Toddler Interested in Food and Cooking’ ∞

October 4, 2019

This J. Kenji Lopez-Alt peice for Serious Eats is excellent. It’s meant as a guide for raising a child around food, but I use a lot of these techniques all the time. Mostly in introducing my friends and family to new vegan items or ways that plant-based things can be substituted in dishes people are already making.

Don’t Use Negative Words About Food

Bingo. Simple. I try to only show meat-eaters delicious things. It’s okay if they don’t like it, but I’m always trying to use language that makes the food approachable and appealing to them.

Let Them Taste Everything

This is probably the most important tip. If I go to a restaurant and I know they have an incredible vegan thing on the menu, I offer folks around me a bite — and if there are lots of people at the table, I might even order another of that dish. I want to share. Sharing takes the risk off of them and let’s them live out the dim-sum-tapas lifestyle we all dream of.

Encourage Thoughtful Eating

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It engages all the senses—kids can feel texture, taste flavor, smell aroma, look at color, and listen to the sounds of cooking and eating—and it comes with built-in stories, whether those stories are just about how it got from the supermarket to the table, or the actual history of the dish.

When I’m showing off new vegan foods, how I prepare it and pair it is a massive part of it.

Don’t Worry Too Much

If there’s one guaranteed way to get my daughter to stop eating, it’s to upset her.

And this is the biggest one. I try to not upset my table. I think most vegans I know are afraid of the p-word, aka being called preachy. And I don’t want to preach to the dinner table. Often one person will ask, “Why are you vegan?” and I’m happy to answer that question — but it’s difficult in a group setting. In my experience, people don’t love talking about how animals get to their plates, and — being honest — I don’t either. Although most might be comfortable with my answer, I don’t want to make anyone feel bad about the food they just ordered that hasn’t arrived at the table yet. And I also don’t want to engage anyone whose hangry-ness might be flaring up.

My go-to answer is a joke because I want people to feel at ease. When people ask why I’m vegan, I usually say because I like being the most difficult person in the room.

Start Them Young!

I liken this to expecting some folks might be a bit more thorny when you first approach them. I’ve had many friends who immediately became defensive when they found out I was vegan. For some, just hearing that someone doesn’t eat meat seemed to make them uncomfortable. It became an immediate one-way interrogation, but that was okay. It’s a little weird when people come at you like that, but it’s something we can all handle. And, I think if we handle it well, it often changes their tune. One of my friends, who early on had been defensive, now asks me to cook my vegan mac n’ cheese for them every time they see me.

Essentially, I use this advice to mean the earlier you introduce vegan food to their life the sooner they’ll be receptive. This has been the case with almost all of my friends and family. Initially, it’s fear then apprehensive then they try something delicious and it’s “oh, this is vegan?!“. It just happens slowly. Give everyone time to learn new ideas and change their mind.

‘Veggie Mijas and the vegan diet revolution’ ∞

September 16, 2019

Victoria Leandra has a great new piece up about Amy Quichiz’s queer and POC-group Veggie Mijas. It touches on many parts of veganism that need to be talked about more:

People of color also experience underrepresentation in the vegan mainstream, Quichiz tells Mic. She used to be the only person of color at vegan events she attended while in college and having white vegan friends who often policed her for her decisions. Many would shame her for not being “a real vegan” if she ate a free meal on campus and took the meat off the plate — their shade is, she now knows, an egregious example of privileged snobbery.That food-shaming, at one time, made Quichiz feel that a vegan lifestyle was out of her reach.

What Quichiz speaks about in this article is important to all communities, and especially ones of color.

Black and Brown communities are often food deserts, areas with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, and understanding the circumstances under why someone can’t be vegan 24/7 is important to the Veggie Mijas’ mission. They serve as a resource for recipes with items you may already have in your pantry or might be part of your diet already like avocado, rice, beans, or plantains. This ethos also translates to its events, where vegan or not, all POC are welcomed if they have a willingness to learn.

Learning how to cook in this environment sounds incredible. Food is society’s glue, and Veggie Mijas seems like it’s building something important and new.

Eating habits start from an early age, so Quichiz’s vision is to instill a strong sense of food values in children elementary-aged to teenagers by empowering them to eat healthier. There’s a direct line to the entire community, who Quichiz and her cohort can influence and support.

This is the thing that I hope grows, across this community and others. Cooking is difficult if you’ve never done it. I know when I first was learning to cook, the prospect of cooking an onion was a scary prospect. Cutting? Dicing? A big hot pan? I’d never done it, and I had no idea what to do. Just having one person around to help makes cooking a survivable and often fun endeavor.

I ordered their cook book. It helps support their work, and I bet it’ll be delicious if you’re looking to expand your cooking with simple staples like rice and beans.

‘Malnutrition Case Stirs Debate About Vegan Diets for Babies ‘ ∞

September 2, 2019

It happens every once in a while: A child being raised vegan develops serious health problems, setting off an emotional debate over whether such diets are suitable for the very young.

Experts say it is possible to raise healthy infants and children on a totally plant-based diet.

Like any diet for a child, all it takes is planning — and these parents didn’t plan. A reminder that the American Dietetic Association says: that appropriately planned vegan diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegan diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes. 

✏️ by C. W. Moss