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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsToddler on vegan diet dies
https://m.sfgate.com/news/article/A-baby-kept-on-a-vegan-diet-died-His-parents-14855623.phpThe parents of an 18-month-old boy who died in September from malnourishment have been arrested by Florida police on charges of manslaughter and child neglect.
On Sept. 27, around 4 a.m., Sheila O'Leary nursed the child briefly and, she told authorities, became worried when he began breathing shallowly, the Florida Fort Myers News-Press reported. Rather than call for help, though, the O'Learys went to sleep.
The paramedics who responded to a 911 call later that day pronounced the boy dead at the Cape Coral, Florida, home; he weighed just 17 pounds when he died, according to police reports, significantly under the average weight for a child his age, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Sheila and Ryan O'Leary told investigators that the vegan family only eats fruit, vegetables and raw foods, such as mangoes, rambutans, bananas and avocados, according to the News-Press. The parents supplemented the toddler's diet with breast milk.
The child, who was home-birthed had never seen a doctor.
alittlelark
(18,890 posts)The fact that the parents never took him to a doctor is a much more significant issue.
Paka
(2,760 posts)the beast feeding child is on a vegan diet. She cannot provide the proper nutrients that she doesn't have.
alittlelark
(18,890 posts)There are those that can become unhealthy, but I imagine that if you are able to lactate you are not in ill health.
I am not a vegan, but I don't eat much meat.
LeftInTX
(25,380 posts)Veganism was most common in the states of Gujarat (4.9%) and Maharashtra (4.0%).[127]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism
Dairy products and eggs are popular among non-meat consumers in India.
Paka
(2,760 posts)It's called single cell protein, which is prevalent due to lack of sanitary conditions, i.e. bacteria. Actually they are vegetarian, not vegan as they ingest large amounts of eggs and milk. I live in Southeast Asia and have spent extensive time in India.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Where did you ever get that bit of misinformation?
JustABozoOnThisBus
(23,350 posts)Coming from herbivores, it would seem to follow the same logic.
In the case of this child, I wonder if it nursed at all. The mother can eat what she wants, and there should still be protein in her milk.
Still, a sad case when a child dies from parental ignorance or neglect.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Sheep milk is for baby sheep, cow milk for baby cows, and people milk for baby people.
I really doubt the kid was nursing in reality, though; it sounds like a desperate attempt to cover up neglect after the fact. I know a handful of kids who are being raised vegan most of them nursed but one didnt (mom just wasnt able to produce) and theyre all just fine. This poor little boy didnt die because of veganism, he died because his parents are huge pieces of neglectful shit.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)You're still consuming an animal (a mammal one, at that) protein ... it just happens to be the mammal 'homo sapiens'.
tymorial
(3,433 posts)Seriously are you going to harp on the fact that he was breastfeeding as not being "vegan?" Wgas. Seriously.
mr_lebowski
(33,643 posts)Milk is not a vegan product. Even breast milk from your mother.
It's just not (my humble opinion, I suppose there's nothing 'official' on this).
Therefore, if the child had breast milk it was not on a vegan diet and the headline is incorrect.
Not a big deal, just a fact, IMHO. Still an animal protein.
Edited that this is basically my opinion.
customerserviceguy
(25,183 posts)by saying that I am not a vegan or vegetarian, but it seems that there is a difference between keeping an animal penned up to take its milk to feed humans, and a breastfeeding mother who has given her full consent to feeding her child that way.
CaliforniaPeggy
(149,640 posts)His parents are idiots! Home births are OK, if they've been properly assessed by a nurse-midwife or other health professional.
And no pediatrician!
They need to be educated before any more children arrive in that household.
Joe941
(2,848 posts)hunter
(38,317 posts)If someone killed their kid with a bacon only diet what would the headline be?
malaise
(269,054 posts)The fact that the child has never seen a doctor is a bigger problem for me.
FreeState
(10,572 posts)No pun intended
poor kid, though
aikoaiko
(34,172 posts)Terrible. Just terrible.
I wouldn't think this has anything to do with a vegan diet though. Especially if the mother was actually breast feeding.
elleng
(130,974 posts)Says it all.
Doodley
(9,094 posts)Last edited Sun Nov 24, 2019, 03:12 AM - Edit history (1)
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)Doodley
(9,094 posts)-in-laws health cost, there's not enough for me.
Tipperary
(6,930 posts)reason I know. This sucks
greyl
(22,990 posts)Since we're doing dumb headlines.
IndyOp
(15,524 posts)have the child removed from their home.
Doodley
(9,094 posts)Last edited Sun Nov 24, 2019, 03:12 AM - Edit history (1)
this fateful conclusion.
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)Mariana
(14,858 posts)to figure out which families have children who need help. Someone has to actually report a potential abuse or neglect situation to them, before they can investigate and take any action.
dewsgirl
(14,961 posts)flvegan
(64,409 posts)Congrats!
And I know on Monday, my co-worker will say something about vegans being child-murdering morons.
BlueTsunami2018
(3,492 posts)Or at least government regulated until a person can make an informed decision on what they like to eat.
On the tit, mandatory.
Lizzie Boredom
(16 posts)If this child wanted to become vegan by his own volition he could've made that choice after he turned 18. Until then the parents should've provided him adequate nutrition from a balanced diet.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)by a vegan diet. There are vegan children everywhere who are thriving.
Vogon_Glory
(9,118 posts)AFTER THEY REACH A CERTAIN AGE OF PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT AND AFTER THEIR PHYSICIAN SAYS THEYRE READY.
That was clearly NOT the case with this 18 month old.
dalton99a
(81,516 posts)When a detective met with the O'Learys, they were standing near their minivan, which had three other children inside.
Two of those children are Ryan and Sheila O'Leary's biological children and were described as extremely small for their ages, 3 and 5, and were pale and yellowish in color, the statement says.
They both weighed under the third percentile for their ages, and one of those children also had blackened teeth indicating dental decay, which required surgery.
The third child in the minivan appeared to be the healthiest of the children, and is Sheila O'Leary's daughter with a different father who lives in Virginia.
According to the parental custody, the older child visits the biological father in Virginia every two months for a few weeks, which is likely explains her healthier appearance, police said in the statement.
In 2009, she was placed with the biological father in Virginia because she "failed to thrive" in Sheila O'Leary's care.
According to jail records, the parents appear close to a normal range for their heights and weights. Sheila O'Leary is 5 feet tall weighed 90 pounds at her booking; Ryan O'Leary is 6 feet and weighs 160 pounds.
https://www.news-press.com/story/news/crime/2019/11/12/malnourished-toddler-weighed-17-lbs-time-death-family-vegan-sheila-oleary-ryan-oleary-cape-coral/2577087001/
Response to Demovictory9 (Original post)
elocs This message was self-deleted by its author.
UniteFightBack
(8,231 posts)Kaleva
(36,312 posts)I do not know if a vegan diet for an infant does that.
Codeine
(25,586 posts)Veganism didnt kill that little boy, bad parents killed him, and I hope they rot in a cell forever.
Kaleva
(36,312 posts)I should have been more clear in my previous post. I'm not trying to say a vegan diet killed the toddler. Parental neglect killed him.
Demovictory9
(32,457 posts)Kaleva
(36,312 posts)Mendocino
(7,495 posts)you are ok with vegan diets?
Kaleva
(36,312 posts)Again, going by what I've read on the subject, a vegan diet for an infant under the age of 1 is fine as long as some of the foods are fortified.
Mendocino
(7,495 posts)is there a insufficient nutritional levels for those babies from those mothers?
Kaleva
(36,312 posts)"Vegan diet and breast milk
Babies that grow up in vegan families also need breast milk for proper development.
You should supplement this milk with vitamin B12 so that your baby gets all the necessary nutrients. Depending on the type of food the family eats, the baby might also need iodine."
https://youaremom.com/babies/vegan-diet-breast-milk/
Mendocino
(7,495 posts)for adults and infants for B12 or iodine, without being vegan. Most animal feed (up to 90%) are fortified with B12. Iodine has recommended for decades (goiter belt). Micronutrients were once prevalent in "dirty" soil and impure water.
Farmer-Rick
(10,185 posts)Even the parents are too thin for their weight.
There is some kind of psychopathy about food with these parents. They need some serious intervention before their other children die.
LisaL
(44,973 posts)The father is within the normal range but mother is slightly below.
Farmer-Rick
(10,185 posts)The mother is less than 18.5 BMI which is considered underweight, especially for a woman.
Something weird is going on about food. Who doesn't feed their children? It's instinctive to feed your babies.
TexasBushwhacker
(20,202 posts)LeftInTX
(25,380 posts)All of these would grow in a South Florida backyard. Who knows...a short article doesn't provide more details?? I think legumes might take a summer break in South Florida. Corn and amaranth (not a true grain) are one of the very few warm season grains. Wheat, oats and rye are cool season and rice is an aquatic.
dflprincess
(28,079 posts)though she and her husband know what they're doing. Their pediatrician says he's never seen healthier kids and neither one has ever had anything more serious than a cold (and she does vaccinate).
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)You always have the kid see a DOCTOR, especialy as there are then thousand other things that could kill a child regardles of meat or veggies.
Lunabell
(6,089 posts)There can be a serious deficit of calories, iron, protein or vitamin b12. If you're a sane vegan and do it correctly, it is beneficial to both body and the planet.
I'm an omnivore who can't, no, won't be vegan due to my voracious appetite for bacon, cheeseburgers, steak, shrimp and other tasty little animals.