Vegan Couple Gets Life in Prison Over Baby's Death

On Wednesday May 9^th a Vegan couple was sentenced to life in prison after essentially killing their six week old child because they only fed it a diet of juice and soy products. The child actually died of starvation on April 24, 2004 and weighed a pathetic three and a half pounds when he perished.

The parents were convicted of several charges including cruelty to children, involuntary manslaughter, felony murder, and malice murder. The couple was officially found guilty of these charges on May 2^nd of this year (2007). Lawyers for the couple defended them by saying that the couple cared for their baby as best they could while still adhering to the strict Vegan lifestyle. Also the defense lawyers stated that the couple was unaware of how severely sick the child was up until mere minutes before he died. However the prosecution is declaring that this is not a 'Vegan' case, but rather a case of parental neglect and the fact that the couple simply did not feed their baby.

Vegans are the most hardcore of the Vegetarian family and shy away from using any animal product at all (including eggs, cheese, fish, seafood, honey, etc). Adults can handle this way of life because they will supplement their diet with vitamins, lots of vegetables and even meat substitutes, or a combination of all of these. However a new born baby, or really a small child of any age, cannot sustain good health while participating in the Vegan lifestyle.

Unfortunately this is not the first case of Vegan parents neglecting their child via malnutrition. Around April 2002 www.foxnews.com reported a vegan couple residing in New York City that starved their baby girl by not giving it breast milk and would only allow the baby to eat nuts and fruits. Luckily this young girl did not die, and the parents were later charged with reckless endangerment.

The problem is that some Vegans approach Veganism as a religion and adhere in an extremely strict manner to a non-animal product diet. It is understandable that they might want to raise their children as they live, but smart choices must be made so that a child can experience a healthy and happy childhood. The problem is that some Vegans do impose this diet on their babies and/or small children. Of course not all Vegans do such an act, but some do, and this subject needs to be made aware to the public. By making the public aware of this issue perhaps a child can be saved in the future.