[*Cringe*]

I've been thinking about this lately, and I'm wondering what everybody else thinks.<br><br><br><br>
It would be an easy decision if you happen to be procreating with somebody who is veg*n, but what if the other parent is omni?<br><br><br><br>
I personally will never cook meat for another person. By the time I have children (when I leave home, in fact) I plan to be vegan, so I probably won't be cooking with eggs or dairy either. It would depend on how the other parent felt about raising veg*n children, but idealy I would feed my children vegan food. If daddy wants a steak, daddy can go ahead and buy, prepare and cook his steak, and mommy and the kids will be happy with their Tempeh.<br><br>
When they get to the age where they start questioning why daddy eats different food, they get the speech: "Well, some people eat animals, and some people don't. People have been eating meat since the beginning of time, so nobody can say it's right or wrong. <b>I</b> believe that it's better not to eat animals, but <b>Daddy</b> [Grandma and Grandpa, Joey down the street, etc] believes that because people are omnivores, and we CAN eat animals and some people like the taste, that it's okay to eat a little bit of meat. We only get our meat from people who were very nice to the cow and were careful that it didn't suffer too much. Mommy doesn't eat eggs or dairy either because sometimes the people who are taking care of the chickens and the cows aren't very nice to them. But Daddy gets his eggs from people who just let the chickens run around and eat grain, and they're happy. So, everybody gets to decide for themselves what they think is okay to eat. If you want to try eating meat [or dairy, or eggs] then you can. But remember, that meat came from an animal."<br><br><br><br>
Or something like that. Hehe...<br><br><br><br>
So, tell me what you think.

 

[ketivnilloc]

i'd do the same. not gonna prepare meat, eggs, or dairy for anyone, or anything.

 

[GhostUser]

I don't want kids, but if I do have them, they will be raised vegan.

 

[GhostUser]

Just wondering..where do you plain to get this idle meat eggs and dairy from? the conditions you described are very far fetched. Or was that suppose to be like a lie to make their father look better I dont think there are any companys that will raise animals like that unless you live near a small family farm.

 

[Tuffenoughtoroc]

I would raise my kids (if I ever have any) veg*n. I would teach them everything about the food industry and how important it is to recycle, keep themselves and the environment healthy, etc. But once they get older than can eat whatever they want. If they unfortunately want to eat meat, I suppose it's they're choice, but I won't cook or buy meat for them.

 

[MoonJumper]

Definitely raising them vegan! Well, I mean like at birthday parties and stuff I guess they can try cake and the cookies which contain dairy and eggs, but only because I don't want them to feel like freaks. I will prepare stuff for them if they don't want to eat the stuff at the party. As long as they don't eat meat, I can let them try a few dairy dishes.<br><br>
When I became vegan and my family was asking me loads of questions and teasing me, they said "So you're going to have veggie children who only eat organic food" etc. but they said it as if it was a bad thing and I should be ashamed of it. My sister(who is much older and has 2 kiddos) was all like "Oh my gosh, poor children! Are you serious?" And I'm like, "Yeah, they are going to be waaayyy healthier than yours!" and she got all offended...about five minutes later she had to go nebulize my nephew because he had bronchitis for the millionth time. Seriously, her kids are ALWAYS sick, and my nephew is waaayyyy overweight, I feel bad for him.Oh, and my niece looked all skinny next to him, but it turns out she is overweight too, go figure. They recently all went on a new nutritional prgram and are losing weight, but still. So, moral of the story, i would rather my child eat loads of fruits and veggies and ethnic foods than live off of McDonald's chicken nuggets and fries.<br><br><br><br>
oh, yeah, I asked her if h kids knew what meat was, you know, as in "It's a dead animal!" and she was all shocked and said, " no of course not, they're too young for that! How do you think they would feel if they knew?"....exactly....er

 

[*Cringe*]

No, Idle dairy and eggs do NOT exist, I know. However my entire life [only 14 years, but... edit: oh, three towns still. I know lots of people have never moved ^^ Shoulda clarified.] I have lived somewhere where freeranged eggs, dairy and meat are very commonplace. Still not ideal, and that's why I'm not going to be eating them. However if my SO wishes to, I'm not going to stop them. When we're talking about the first time a child is questioning what they're eating [assumably a rather young age, children are inquisitive], a numbed down version is needed IMHO.

 

[Tracyfart]

Same here, I will raise my children (not vegan) but vegetarian. If I were still vegan I would definitely raise them vegan as well. Once they are old enough to understand, I will let them decide for themselves. But what a great gift to give a child if you do it correctly!

 

[VegWithEdge]

No, i strongly believe that children should CHOOSE. Even though i am now a vegan i am pretty sure that i will marry an omni man. How would he feel if i said, "No, our children cannot eat any meat!" As the significant other i would be really frustrated. Also, i would not want to force beliefs on someone that early of an age just for them to go out and 'secretly' eat meat out with their friends. I also know a vegan family and their little 4 year old is half his size and always sick... i just feel bad for him because he cant have cookies like the rest of my cousins class mates. So in a nutshell, i will try to educate my children about factory farming, animal rights, ect and then allow them to make the choice themselves.

 

[MOMO17]

i will raise my childern veg*n<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/rockon.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title=":rockon:">

 

[GhostUser]

If I ever have children, they will be raised as vegans.

 

[anatta]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>VegWithEdge</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Also, i would not want to force beliefs on someone that early of an age just for them to go out and 'secretly' eat meat out with their friends.</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
But you're already going to be forcing beliefs on them - potty training, table manners, general civility and avoidance of cruelty. Veg*nism, to me, fits into general civility. I wouldn't, for instance, let my kids choose whether it's okay to set a cat on fire. Do you plan on feeding them an omni diet as default until they choose veg*nism? Maybe it's just that I consider veg*nism the default.<br><br><br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>Tracyfart</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Once they are old enough to understand, I will let them decide for themselves. But what a great gift to give a child if you do it correctly!</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
I couldn't agree more. Personally, I feel betrayed by my parents and society. =/

 

[VegWithEdge]

Potty training is not a 'belief' its the way humans function... not to be rude but that was the worst comparison ever.<br><br><br><br>
I will feed my children a healthy variety of food- fruits, vegetables, sources of calcium, and ect. I personally do not think i should have the mind set of vegan children when i have not even MET my husband.<br><br><br><br>
Its too early in life to say what we plan to do to those who dont even exist. I care about the health of my future children- they want to be vegans or even vegetarians? rock on mom... but until then im going to let my future children discover the world on their own.

 

[southern_vegan]

This is kinda hard to discuss with people, because they dont always understand where you're coming from. Ive thought long and very hard about this, and my conclusion is that yes, I would definately like to raise my children vegan. I know that at times they will seem 'different' to the other kids, but I think it will be worth it. I dont want to see my own flesh and blood getting sick because of all te meat/junk they have eaten, or have all the other problems we have in today's society. I just pray that God will send me a husband that will understand and support(and maybe be veg*n with me!) me in my decision.<br><br><br><br>
I also dont want to raise my kids eating a lot of sugar. And when I say sugar I dont mean the sugar like in fruits etc. , I mean like refined, sucanant, turbinando, cane juice, etc. Sugar can be addicting, and I dont want them to be like a lot of the kids I see today always eating little debbies, cookies, cakes. I will definately let them have them as long as I know what's in them(and approve of course) but I dont want them to have these everyday. I would love to have my kids run up to me and say "Mommy, Mommy, can I please have some apple slices(or other fruit) for my snack?"

 

[honeybunch2k6]

I will definitely raise my kids vegan. I plan to raise my kids on whole foods-no refined sugar! I know some people are going to be horrified that I won't give my kids cow's milk or any kind of dairy, but they'll have to get over it. No fast food for my child. I was raised on fast food, and I know first hand how if adversely affects health. I'm going to tell my children everything I know. I can't wait to raise some independent-minded individuals!

 

[anatta]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>VegWithEdge</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Potty training is not a 'belief' its the way humans function... not to be rude but that was the worst comparison ever.</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
If humans by default functioned as toilet-users, I don't think there'd need to be "training"! But that comparison is, overall, unimportant - my other examples stand nonetheless: "table manners, general civility and avoidance of cruelty". My point, regardless of whether my individual comparisons are accurate, is that society definitely and inevitably imposes rules on its youth.<br><br><br><br><div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>VegWithEdge</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
Its too early in life to say what we plan to do to those who dont even exist.</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
That's something to think about.

 

[Pescas]

No I wouldnt raise them vegan or vegetarian. Id raise them omni, BUT I would never cook or serve meat at home, at home they would have to eat what I serve which means no meat..But if they want to have a hot dog with friends or at a birthday party I'm not going to tell them they can't. I'll explain to them where meat comes from, and they can choose whether they want to eat meat outside of the home or not. I guess growing up they would only eat vegetarian meals as they would be home a lot I dont even know if i want children..

 

[Banshee Beat!]

If I ever had children, i would raise them vegetarian untill they were old enough to choose. If you raise them omni, you are choosing cruelty for them, and still forcing beliefs on them, even though they are the norm in our society. Why not choose compassion?

 

[Jennifer89]

I hope to be a foster parent some day, so I don't know how that would be handled. I'd probally prepare all vegan meals, but allow them to buy whatever they want at school. If they are to young to be in school yet, I don't know... I don't mind cooking meat (wanna be a chef!) but I do mind having it in the house. I babysit for a vegan family and it is so cool to not have to double check everything from the frige and to have to take out all of the packs of meat in order to get to the veggies. It would just be really cool to open up the freezer, close my eyes, and eat whatever I pull out. In fact, when I get my own place, that's probally how I will choose what to cook/eat for dinner on the first night.<br><br><br><br>
And if I ever do get married and have children with an omni husband, I would have to talk it out with him, but hopefully we could meet 50/50, at the least, and raise them lacto-ovo (as I would be vegan, and he would eat meat, we would both be sacraficing some).

 

[Jennifer89]

<div class="quote-container"><span>Quote:</span>
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by <strong>honeybunch2k6</strong> <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a><br><br>
I will definitely raise my kids vegan. I plan to raise my kids on whole foods-no refined sugar! I know some people are going to be horrified that I won't give my kids cow's milk or any kind of dairy, but they'll have to get over it. No fast food for my child. I was raised on fast food, and I know first hand how if adversely affects health. I'm going to tell my children everything I know. I can't wait to raise some independent-minded individuals!</div>
</div>
<br><br><br>
Hmmm, what a thought: independent-minded? How are they independent if they are raised to have the same beliefs as you do?<br><br><br><br>
Just a thought.