The Research Question

Should children be forced to be vegetarian or vegan just because their parents are? Depending on how much research I’m actually able to find on the subject I may broaden it more to “should parents force their food choices on their kids”  which is kind of the same, but has a lot of other different aspects.  Currently I really feel kids shouldn’t have food forced on them.  I actually don’t even like the labels vegetarian and vegan, they produce a lot of negative connotations for a lot of people.  I have chosen to stop eating meat, and the other kinds of animal protein I take in are extremely limited.  This is fairly recent for me.  I made this choice earlier this year, and I chose not to enforce it in my house.  It was my choice, not a group decision.

That’s how I feel about this issue in general.  Kids should be allowed to grow up trying all kinds of foods.  Encouraged to try the entire spectrum, and allowed to make the choice to eat animal products, or not, when they’re old enough to make such an important decision.  I really think a lot of people are going to have a problem with this because it’s common to just have your children do as you do, and most people don’t want to have to make separate meals for different people in the family.  Another side of it is that people probably think they’re teaching their children to make the right choices by just raising them as vegan/vegetarian.

I would really like to find out if there have been any studies done involving these kinds of forced food choices and obesity later in life, or eating disorders down the road.  I’d like to find out if this might lead to the propensity for food hoarding or hiding because these kids have felt deprived of something.  Nutrition is my educational focus, so I’d really like to learn more about how this might affect children as they grow.  I’d like to find out if parents who raise their children as herbivores also give them all the vitamins/supplements that are recommended because unless you grow and test the vegetables yourself you really don’t know how long they’ve been out of the ground and what their nutritional value actually is.

Introductions

Welcome!  My name is Jennie, I’m 37 years old, and the mother of 4 girls.  They range in age from 3 to 12.  My family and I run a small alpaca ranch.  In addition to 18 alpacas, we’ve also got 4 dogs, a cat and a small flock of hens.  I am also a college student, back in the classroom for the first time in twenty years.  I am on my way to studying nutritional science, and becoming a registered dietitian.  My hobbies are vast and varied. I knit obsessively.  I love yarn, and I love pretty much every activity that has to do with yarn.  I adore books, and the invention of the e-reader was the best thing since sliced bread, in my opinion.  I am also a pretty avid gamer.  I’ve been playing World of Warcraft since the summer of 2005, and don’t see myself stopping anytime soon.