My son Aaron's decision to become a vegan at age nine was prompted by a baby painted turtle. A friend of ours needed to get rid of the little creature, as her daughter was not properly caring for it. Unable to release it outdoors during January in Minnesota, we set up a nice little home for our pet and educated ourselves on its proper care and feeding. For a "treat," we bought some feeder goldfish, anticipating that our sweet little pet would swim up to the fish and simply swallow them whole, cartoon-style. Were we ever wrong! We watched, in horror, as our "baby" clamped it's jaw right around the live fish's midsection and began ripping it to shreds with his claws. Aaron immediately ran to his room. Fearing that he might be somewhat traumatized, I coaxed him to talk about the experience. He finally said, "Mom, I don't like being at the top of the food chain."
I wondered how that would sound to the average parent. My son had spent countless days hiking through parks and nature centers, and I reminded him of how the food chain works. We discussed everything from how some animals exist as carnivores, to how some very healthy people have stopped eating animals all together. Never big meat-eaters to begin with, this discussion had not raised any new topics. Yet, shortly after our talk, Aaron began to ask question after question about vegetarianism. We did some online research, bought a book (which we added to my already full cookbook shelves), checked out some library materials, and began to scour the grocery and coop markets for meat alternatives. We pasted the "vegetarian" food pyramid on the refrigerator. It was fun sitting at the computer with him on my lap, learning together. We even found some vegetarian sites for children.
New to both of us was information on animal rights. It was this information that connected us with the issues surrounding dairy products. We learned more about bovine growth hormone, antibiotics, and chemicals and organisms that we'd rather not consume. Feeling sad for the cows in their constant state of pregnancy, for the calves taken from their mothers, and for the shortened life spans of both, Aaron decided to give up milk products entirely.
Giving up eggs was even simpler, since Aaron had never liked them. And with an understanding of standard poultry industry treatment, i.e. chickens stacked up to the ceiling in crowded cages in a urine-scented building, this one was a no-brainer.
Aaron has had to battle school lunch, his father and stepmother, and even a not-very-well-informed psychiatrist, all with my support. But support is not easy to find in a dairy state, and in a country where milk is given to all school children. We often wonder whether soymilk
could also be subsidized by the government, and provided to our children as the alternative for those who do not, or can not, consume milk. We often include it in our packed lunches.
Aaron continues to scrutinize labels for by-products like casein and whey. This has lead to some interesting discussions. I claim that we're not actually causing the current practices of the factory farms, we're only saving the waste stream in a small way by consuming their "garbage" before it is thrown away. However, my independent, decision-making son, more of a purist than I, always claims that if we buy some other brand, maybe they'll stop using dairy in these products. He's quite a little economist, and moralist, and thinker. And I'm quite proud of him.
--Rebecca Nyberg is a single mom of two sons, both of whom have shared an interest in healthful cooking and eating, and enjoy experimenting in the kitchen (like their mom.) She is the copy editor for Vegetarian Baby and Child magazine.
