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Ethical Dilemma In The OANST Household

Posted 02-16-2009 at 12:32 PM by OANST

Abbey came to a realization yesterday. It occurred to her that when we say we are having chicken for dinner, we are actually eating a chicken. You could actually see the realization come into her eyes and then she says "You don't eat chickens! Chickens are friends!". So we tell her that lots of people eat chicken and that it's good for you to have meat. Her response is "No. You don't eat chickens, Mama".

We decided to take the conversation further and told her that hamburger is made from cow. Predictably, the reply was "No, Daddy. Cows are friends. You don't eat cows". So I told her what leather is and that many people wear it. "No, Daddy. You don't wear cows". This is my favorite part: She then says "And you don't eat elephants, either".
"Can I ride an elephant?", I ask. "Yes", she says. She thinks about it for a minute and then adds "You can hug them, too".

I love my kid.

Comments 29

Total Comments 29

Comments

	Please tell her what veal is, i wana hear about that.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 12:36 PM by shaman

Speaking as a vegan…

On second thoughts, that’s perhaps telling you enough about what I would say for me not to have to say it. Suffice it to say, when I came to the equivalent conclusion as Abbey it was about a fish, and nobody ever bothered to take the discussion further. If my parents had felt the responsibility of letting me make my own informed lifestyle decisions… Well, maybe I’d have had an immature tiring of a non-meat diet long ago, but I might have grown up trusting them more. And other things more, but don’t let my weird emotional circumstances enter into this.

*resists urge to rant about upbringing*

Posted 02-16-2009 at 12:43 PM by Wil

	That is adorable.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 01:11 PM by Mac Sirloin

	I kind of figured that since she is coming to this realization and apparently has a problem with it, I should be honest and divulge the rest of the sordid food affair to her. I am completely unsure that this is the wisest thing to do. I do think it is the right thing to do, however.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 01:16 PM by OANST

	Teach her meat can be fun!
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 01:19 PM by Hobo

	That's sweet.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 01:55 PM by Jordan

	That's smeat.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 03:59 PM by Pilot

	That's atrocious...
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 04:01 PM by shaman

	The Eternally Appropriate Lion King. : Suffice it to say, when I came to the equivalent conclusion as Abbey it was about a fish, and nobody ever bothered to take the discussion further. Could be worse. I'm a marine biologist. I eat what I love.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 04:47 PM by Bullet Magnet

	Yes really, watch the Lion King with her.
	Posted 02-16-2009 at 09:19 PM by Strike Witch

	: I'm a marine biologist. I eat what I love. Whales? Coral reefs? So OANST, what will you be telling Abbey? Will you tell her that many people choose not to eat meat and that it doesn’t mean they lose out on any dietary requirements? And if she wanted to do that, would you let her?
	Posted 02-17-2009 at 05:38 AM by Wil

	I've already told her that many people choose not to eat meat at all. She said that she doesn't want to and I intend to respect that. April was kind of pissed that I told her all this. It makes figuring out what to feed her a bit more difficult.
	Posted 02-17-2009 at 05:42 AM by OANST

	Stuff the meat down her throat. Or introduce her to a few vegans/vegetarians and tell her she'll end up looking like them. Alcar...
	Posted 02-17-2009 at 03:05 PM by Alcar

	My sister and I were vegetarians from birth (we just don't like the taste) and my mum survived. I'm sure she stressed about it a lot, but we managed.
	Posted 02-17-2009 at 04:04 PM by Nate

	Vegans are human trash. BAM! http://www.vegfamily.com/forums/arch...hp/t-1791.html And the article I was actually looking for :http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle4087734.ece You people are morons who'll face severe consequences for your health because of pretentious ethical bullshit.
	Posted 02-17-2009 at 06:21 PM by Mac Sirloin

The very same results occur if you are not vegan and still don't know how to feed your child.

The fact is, you are quite able to get all of your nutrients from plants alone. This is obvious: food animals get all their nutrients from plants, and are apparently where those vital nutrients vegans miss come from. Sure, it's harder, since animals can concentrate trace nutrients in vegetables in themselves, but it's hardly impossible. You just actually have to know what the fuck you're doing before you cut out a major part of your diet.

Posted 02-17-2009 at 07:13 PM by Bullet Magnet

	Stop being so reasonable and freak out over my edgy defiance.
	Posted 02-17-2009 at 07:38 PM by Mac Sirloin

Wow, that’s a very irresponsible article. No where near as irresponsible as the parents who didn’t feed their child a balanced diet in the first place, but the ridiculous backlash against perfectly healthy veganism that has resulted from numerous cases like this is depressing. There are great resources on how to bring up a child on a well-rounded vegan diet (which stands a good chance of being healthier than the average diet), and there’s likely to be even more literature and advice for a child’s vegetarian diet.

Apart from the extra work this will mean for your food preparation, the one hassle I can think of is that children’s taste buds change over time, leading to their well-known dislike of all those wonderful planty goodies we should relish.

Posted 02-18-2009 at 03:36 AM by Wil

	My sister is vegetarian. So I have practice in being dickish about this.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 05:19 AM by Mac Sirloin

	I'm okay with her not having anything to do with the products made from dead animals but I will not be okay with her going full vegan until she is a bit older. Five is pretty young to be making extreme life-style decisions and she couldn't possibly go without milk. That kid freakin' loves milk. I am prepared to respect that she doesn't want to eat or wear the things that she wants to hug.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 06:02 AM by OANST

	Sure, sure, I wasn’t trying to recruit. Just responding to the posted article and squeezing in a reassurance that there are resources on how to have a healthy vegetarian diet for all ages.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 06:48 AM by Wil

	On the plus side, it's open season for all the creepy crawlies that she doesn't want to hug. Unless she's one of that rare yet awesome breed who loves bugs. If so, you have the ultimate child.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 07:22 AM by Bullet Magnet

Kid fucking loves bugs.

@ Max: That was not meant as a reproach by any means. It was more of a response to Kastere than anything else.

Also, she has no fear of animals. A bird flew into the house a few days ago (I have no idea how) and she was getting right up into it's face and inspecting it. The bird is flapping it's wings and freaking out, but she is just calmly trying to get closer. I had to drag her away from it.

Posted 02-18-2009 at 07:34 AM by OANST

Updated 02-18-2009 at 07:39 AM by OANST

	I was just like that. I kept bringing home chicks that had fallen from their nests to raise. I wasn't very good at it. I kept a pigeon going for a week, once, and even got it on solid foods. It crapped everywhere.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 08:50 AM by Bullet Magnet

	There has always been something about you that just screamed kidnapper/rapist. Now we know.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 09:49 AM by OANST

	It genuinely would have been environmentally preferable had I left them to die.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 10:52 AM by Bullet Magnet

	No, there is nothing wrong with a kid wanting to save the life of a living creature. I did the same type of things when I was a kid. They also never survived on me and I remember balling uncontrollably when a frog I was trying to save died. Still, at least we weren't drowning cats in bags.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 11:22 AM by OANST

	Tofu? Or, tell her of Tofu then swap it with meat. My mum did that to me in my "I won't eat aminals!" stage, but then I cracked a week later and she was like Gotcha!
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 12:02 PM by Strike Witch

	Is there anything about a strictly carnivorous diet? half-serious OANST, how does she feel about spiders? I heard some of them were pretty tasty.
	Posted 02-18-2009 at 06:15 PM by scrab queen

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