What does it really mean to “force” a child into a way of eating? Every parent makes food choices for their children long before children can make them for themselves. The real question is which choices are rooted in honesty, compassion, and consistency. A vegan upbringing does not ask children to love animals while also teaching them to consume them. It removes that contradiction and invites clarity from the beginning. It says your meals should reflect your values, not conceal them. It also opens the door to conversations about kindness, health, and the living world in a way that is direct rather than evasive. Children deserve the truth about where food comes from and what our choices mean for others. Raising a child vegan is not about coercion. It is about offering nourishment without violence and teaching that care for animals is not a slogan, but a practice woven into everyday life.
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So many simply do not understand the ubiquity of the carnism in our culture. We as vegans are "forcing" children to be vegan? As you say, Michael, the constant talk and advertising of meat in the world is "forcing" children to eat meat all the while loving animals, being kind to animals. How often I have heard of children, sometimes very young, refusing to eat meat because they see the light despite indoctrination, and their parents obstinately try to insist that they eat meat.
Well said. I am the only plant based person at the Catholic school where I teach. They think I am the odd one. The disconnect is everywhere. As a Buddhist who has taken her Refuge Vow, I often think about right livelihood. This means taking a job that does not cause harm. I don’t think many people think about this. There is so much money to be made by violence toward and exploitation of vulnerable humans and animals. Look at guns, war, the killing of animals for food on a mass scale. It is disheartening.