Can growing kids and puppies become vegans?

Question

My sister would like to convert into a vegan after watching a PETA video "Meet Your Meat" and I am worried that she would not get enough nutrients and such as she is still a growing child. Also, she wants to convert our dog, a three month old japanese spitz into a vegan, but dogs are meat eaters so will it cause any harm to our puppy?

Answer 1

Human children, yes.  Your sister will have to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and beans (which she could get as bean burgers or mashed up beans in a veggie roll-up).  As long as she does that, she should be fine.

"How it All Vegan" by Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard has a section with kiddy food.  "Vive Le Vegan" by Dreena Burton has a section on children's nutrition from infancy through adolescence.  You'll find them both under vegetarian cookbooks.  Also check out the Vegetarian Resource Group website (www.vrg.org).  I'm not a parent, but I have heard there are vegetarian family sites geared toward raising vegan kids.

Dogs are omnivores and can eat everything. Some dogs can thrive on a vegetarian diet.  But vegan dog food is more expensive--is she going to pay for it?  You could do a compromise where you feed the puppy meat for his primary food and give him vegetarian dog treats.  There are vegetarian dog biscuits and fake "pig ears" you can get at vegan online retailers.

Answer 2

for the sister, it's perfectly fine, if done RIGHT..

There are NO nutrients that humans need that can NOT be gotten from a completely plant-based diet,.. absolutely NONE

she'd just have to be sure to get the right balance annd variety of plant foods to supply her  nutritional needs.. which are different from an adult, so that needs to be taken into consideration

my 4 year old niece is the tallest, healthiest, smartest,  happiest 4-year old I've ever met. AS a infant she had her vegan mother's breastmilk and soy formula.. and she's never had dairy, eggs, or meat in her life...

her 10 month old brother isn't doing too badly as a vegan, either..  he's chubby, never sick, and large for his age.

Now I can't vouch for the dog.. best to consult a vet on that one.. some animals aRE "obligate carnivores" (Cats, for example) and need certain chemicals that are only found in animal products

but humans can get EVERY single ITSY BITSY nutrient they need from a PROPERLY planned plant-based diet.

Your sister will have to be NOT a picky eater  because she'll need a WIDE variety of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains.. it is best to consult a vegan-friendly nutritionist to fully understand her unique nutritional needs at her age and HOW to get them from a plant-only diet.. but it can be done, and, if done PROPERLY, she'll be the healthier for it, not vice-versa.

Answer 3

I wouldn't do it to the puppy until more research is done.

As of kids, can start off vegetarian (includes milk & eggs).

Answer 4

Not without adult supervision. Anything that has to do with health of a minor should be first consulted with the child's parents. Children often do not have the necessary knowledge or experience  to make such decisions for themselves without guidance from their parents. Any direct nutritional advice given here is potentially harmful to minors.

What do your parents have to say about it?

There are commercially available vegetarian dog food formulas. However they are often more expensive than regular dog food formulations. Better ask your parents again as they are the ones who are going to pay for it anyway.

Since it seems your sister is a minor, I was wondering though how she had unsupervised access  to videos on the Internet which are not suitable for younger kids.

Answer 5

Well I know I have heard of vegetarian dogs even though I still dont know about that but studues have shown that vegan kids are shorter that vegetarians so she needs to just be responsible with what she eats and not eat pure junk and lots of soy should do the trick

Answer 6

A dog is primarily a carnivore. You have a right to make choices for your body and your children if you choose, and if it is nutritionally sound to do so. Consult a nutritionist about your diet to ensure your eating the right variety of foods.

You do not have a moral or ethical right to impose an unnatural diet on another creature be it a dog, cat, lion or wolf.

Peta shows a very hypocritical attitude towards animals with this video. How ethical is it to go against the natural order of life?

Answer 7

It's a terrible idea...

it would be very unhealthy and unnatural, for both the child and the dog.

You should pose this question to your pediatrician however.

Answer 8

puppies- no cuz they are carnivores they will suffer immensely

growing kids yes because humans biologically are not even supposed to be drinking cow milk even if it does help us grow  we are supposed to only drink human milk during infancy

and my friend has been vegetarian since age 2

Answer 9

Any human can be a healthy vegan, in any stage of life. It takes work, though. If she's really committed to it, talk with a nutritionist or two, and get a good diet plan set up for her.

Do NOT let her do that to your puppy, though. Dogs can be healthy vegetarians, but not vegans. At ANY stage of life. The current longest living dog, who is over 30, was raised vegetarian. If she wants to make your puppy a vegetarian instead, that's fine, but again, you'll need to get a diet plan for the dog.

Answer 10

Dogs are carnivores, and do VERY badly on a vegan diet.  They don't have a digestive system set up to handle protein from vegetable sources.

I never recommend people adopting a vegan diet until they have stopped growing, around age 18 - 22.  There is a smaller risk of poor development from lack of nutrients that way.

The body NEEDS animal proteins for optimal brain function and development.  Not a lot, but some.

Answer 11

People can thrive at any age on a vegan diet.

Dogs can be vegans, too.  They are natural omnivores and often do great on well planned vegan diets.

EDIT to remark on:

"Dogs are carnivores, and do VERY badly on a vegan diet. They don't have a digestive system set up to handle protein from vegetable sources.

I never recommend people adopting a vegan diet until they have stopped growing, around age 18 - 22. There is a smaller risk of poor development from lack of nutrients that way.The body NEEDS animal proteins for optimal brain function and development. Not a lot, but some."

Do you care to share the qualifications that put you in a position to "reccomend"?

FACT is, you're 100% wrong... and here's why:

http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada...

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/veg_d...

http://www.vegansociety.com/people/lifes...

http://www.vegan.org/going_vegan/veggie_...

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/dogfood1.html

Answer 12

Yes and yes. It's fairly widely accepted that cats cannot be vegan, but dogs can...although it'd be a hassle to make sure the dog's getting the right nutrition. Same for the child, but maybe have her start off vegetarian...and buy her some good quality b-12 supplements.