Rising number of adolescent vegetarians
January 14, 2009 by Michelle Smith
Filed under Recipes
Did you know that 1 in every 200 kids is a vegetarian?
The new estimate of young vegetarians comes from a recent federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study of alternative medicine based on a survey of thousands of Americans in 2007. Information on children’s diet habits was gleaned from about 9,000 parents and other adults speaking on the behalf of those under 18.
One of the theories surrounding this influx of young vegetarians is the easy access of factory farming footage found on YouTube. I’ve observed similar footage myself on television – pigs being beaten and abused, chickens looking sick and broken and just wrong. Very upsetting.
“Compassion for animals is the major, major reason,” said Richard Schwartz, president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, an organization with a newsletter mailing list of about 800. “When kids find out the things they are eating are living animals — and if they have a pet….”
Case in point is Nicole Nightingale, 14, of Safety Harbor, Fla. In 2007, Nightingale was on the Internet to read about chicken when she came across a video on YouTube that showed the birds being slaughtered. At the end, viewers were invited to go to the Web site peta.org — People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Young vegetarians are especially in need of healthy diet guidance, many choosing to eat fries, donuts, chips, and lots of cheese instead of making lean, iron- and protein-rich choices.
Vegetarian doesn’t mean low-calorie,” said Dr. Christopher Bolling, who directs weight management research at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. He said roughly 10 to 15 percent of the overweight kids who come to his medical center’s weight loss program have tried a vegetarian diet at some point before starting the program.
Processed packaged food is not the best choice, but having some frozen low fat chick patties and veggie corndogs in the freezer help to provide a child with a decent jumping off point. Canned beans, tortillas, pita bread, peanut butter, whole wheat bread, fruits, nuts, and sunflower seeds…. these are quick and easy items that an older child can throw together himself for a boost of protein and good carbs for energy.
Having some good go-to menu ideas like a pizza recipe (I make my dough in the bread machine – fast and painless), some pasta options, breakfast for dinner (always a hit at my house) can keep busy school nights from being a stressed out nightmare of confusion when time is tight and the homework is still not done.
Don’t forget the healthy snacks…. like the Cutie’s Mandarins featured in my giveaway. Click here for entry information.
Image credit: Bailey Smith
I have met various families where the child wanted to become vegetarian after seeing a programme about the way animals were reared and killed – and then some or all of the family went vegetarian. Of course, sadly, it doesn’t always happen; some parents are still concerned that their children will be malnourished and so they don’t let them.