Should minors be encouraged to be vegans against the wishes of their parents?

Question

mockingbird----The question's quite clear. If paranoia is a problem, it's not mine.

Answer 1

No!

Answer 2

No one should be encouraged to go vegan if the facts before them have not compelled them to do so. Generally, people don't have to be encouraged to do it. Either a person believes that animals are here to be abused and killed and has the courage to stand against it, or they don't. No amount of "encouragement" can change their minds.

The question most people have been answering is "Should parents allow their children to be vegan?" and I say of course.

There are two ways the situation can be for parents: either their kid is just going through a phase, or it's the real deal.

Teenagers go through many phases, some of which involve so-called "causes" that they care about for a month and then discard. If this is the case with a minor, then the parents should let it play itself out. No harm has been done by letting your child make his/her own decision about their belief system, and then making the decision to change it. It is a learning experience.

If it is not a phase, however, that is all the more reason for parents not to stand in the way of this decision. Besides minor inconvenineces, I can't see a single reason why parents would want to stop their children from making a change to their lifestyle that eases suffering, encourages compassion, lessens environmental impact, and most important for parents, makes their child healthier.

It is simply not right to force anyone with a legitimate set of morals and beliefs to do something that is specifically offensive to those beliefs, including minors.

Answer 3

I dont really know.

should kids be taken away from parents if they are negligent?

i dont have an answer for that question. yet, my government is very certain they do have an answer.

if you go about it the right way, being vegan gives you an incredibly healthy diet, which is indefinitely sustainable... there is nothing in meat or dairy that you cant get somewhere else and from much healthier sources too.

if a kid wants to be healthier then their parents should do the best they can to help them be so.

however, shoulds and coulds dont cut it in the real world and misinformation taints peoples opnions. (like some of the misinformation in this thread, theres no magic nutrients in meat or dairy that you can get elsewhere, do some serious research people...)

thats why the government reserves the right to take kids from parents if they believe that they are negligent.

i dont have an answer for your question and i dont answer yahoo questions that are along the lines of 'i wanna be vegan but my parents wont let me'.

most people have disagreed with thier parents at some point in their life and if it isnt to the point of negligence its pretty much up to the person to deal with the situation how they see fit.

personally, i'd rather die on my feet than live on my knees, but thats just my stand point.

Answer 4

No, minors should learn for themselves. If they want to learn, and ask for info they should be provided with it ( in a legal context of course ) so they can form thier own views and not "encouraged" either way.

I don't think presenting facts with enthusiasm and conviction counts as "encouraging", some do.

Judging by many questions on here, its meat-eating parents who are not respecting thier childrens views as we see many "my parents won't let me be veggie" type questions.

Unfortunatly many parents have the knowledge of "ChrissyG" so you kinda feel compelled to correct those myths.

seeing those comments about vitamins, iron and protein all the time is very frustrating. The knowledge, information, evidence and expereince about a veggie diet is all out there to find. Why people continue with these myths baffles me.

Maybe we should be looking at educating parents rather than encouraging thier kids.

Answer 5

If you mean should we evil vegan cultists be out there actively recruiting underage members, first brainwashing them and then encouraging them to defy their parents' efforts to save their lives (we NEED meat to live, you know)? Then, no.

If you mean should we offer advice and support to teenagers who are here wondering what they can do to show their parents that they are serious about taking a stand based on their principles? Yes. I was a minor when I went vegetarian and I was lucky enough to have a mother who knew enough about human nutrition to know full well that it was possible to be healthy without meat. Not every kid is so lucky and a lot of their parents aren't protesting it for any good reason, they're against it because it's foreign to them and they think their kid is going to get sick. They're wrong. My advice, which runs along the lines of "do some research to alleviate their fears and offer to help cooking" is not going to make a difference if the parents in question are determined to take a hard line against it, but it just might help if they are willing to consider it with an open mind.

Even when you're a kid, what you eat and don't eat is a pretty personal decision. As a teenager, it's your job in life to start thinking independently of your parents and start figuring out who you are. I think taking a stand for vegetarianism (if it speaks to you) is a part of that.

Answer 6

I agree with veggie tart on this one to a point. I think that parents should look into the diet if their kids feel that strongly about it. However, the problem that lies is that if a large family has one child that wants to be vegan, then it may be a financial strain for the family to accomodate their diet. If that is the case the child can either try to buy the food for themselves or wait it out the best they can till they reach the age of maturity and can provide for themselves.

Answer 7

YES..as long as that encouragement offers advice about how to go about it right/eat the right things and such. Without the advice..I'd say probably not...I'd say just stick to being a regular ole vegetarian. I became a vegetarian at the age of 14...(I kicked out everything but chicken and turkey at age 12 though). I didn't live with parents...I lived in like a modern day orffange...so no advice about how to go about it the right way at all..and was fine. Being vegan however requires a bit more training as you can miss out on things unless you know how to eat properly. Not impossible though at any age above 9 give or take a few years.

As for the parents thing...if they want to do it they will. They learned how to make choices for themselves at about the age of 5 give or take a year or two. They will resent the parents(ie all the questions on here about my parents won't let me go veggie) for not letting them make their own choices. The best thing to do would be not tell them no..but to offer advice on how to go about it properly.

Answer 8

I think minors should be encouraged to do research to assure their parents that a vegan diet is healthy. You'd think parents would be happy their kids are eating their vegetables and will probably never want to go to a fast food place.

Answer 9

Ha ha... no...
Parents should be able to raise their kids however they want.

But, that's what school is for -- to take your children away and give them a government education. Parents are not raising their children anymore, the government is. This is also why the government has labelled home-schoolers as terrorists. They want our children -- no different than Hitler, they know the key is our children.

Answer 10

No. Vegan living requires a big dedication in order to ge the nutrition and balanced diet that one would otherwise get eating dairy, meat, et al. Minors are, for the most part, fed by their parents, and minor's vegan diet will have to be catered to by their accompanying adult. Let it go until they're old enough to be able to fend for themselves.

Answer 11

Of course.
If their parents are ignorant of factory farm practices or nutritional information, that shouldn't stop people from trying to educate kids about making moral and healthy choices for themselves. They should even more so, if the parents aren't doing it.