Wally Day wrote:

>>>How about that:
>>>Is is fair to force your personal decision to eat meat on a child?
>>>
>>>
>
>Sorry Amadeus, don't mean to offend, but that is just about the most
>ridiculous question/statement I've read on this list.
>
>Why not take it a step further? Insert your favorite! Is it fair to force
>your personal decision to eat
>fruit/veggies/beans/rice/insects/milk/candy/fritos/bark/dirt/rocks on a
>child?
>
>How about water?
>
>
See, Wally this is the answer to "Is is fair to force your personal
decision to eat vegetarian on a child?"

Your answer shows what most people think in this world: it's just
"normal" to eat meat.
It's just normal not to *think* about what we/they are eating.
Not to think, because after thinking over what this *is*, meat, a part
of a living beeing
--- if people start to think about it , then most I know - hesitate:
"What, eyes? I would never eat eyes"
In fact most people I know would never eat what they recognise as part
of an animal - but are feeling very well
when eating just a rectangular piece of  pink nutritious
......unrecognisable animal leg.
Is this trained? Is this intrinsic to humans?
I don't think such "ordinary" people were ever trained to neglect meat -
to the opposite.

If a child would "eat" mothers milk to the age of 8 or so. And then
could choose of what is available in this world.
What would it choose? Probably chips and pizza. Maybe only fruit.
Do you think the carcass of a pig lying on the gound would look
appealing for it?

Now, you have a small baby you give it the food *you* eat and like. Then
somebody asks:

"Is is fair to force your personal decision to eat xyz on a child?"

This is crap - I'm sorry to say. In the moment I find no better word.
It just implies or reveals that he or she who sais it thinks that
xyz wouldn't be good for the baby. Nothing more.
You can say "this baby could be missing nutrient x"
(as I did recently with a mother not beeing able to breastfeed her baby)
That's legitimate I think.
The other thing is like religion.
Is it fair to "force" a child become a christian? A moslem? A hindu? A money worshiper?

There is no licence for having a baby. Anyone can have one and treat it as he or she thinks is
appropriate. Many parents do their children bad - most of them are simply not caring.
Some become ill and or even die.
And then one out of a billion - vegan parents (not beeing able to care about their vitamin b12 intake)
have a malnourished baby. Everybody cries out.

What about all the other malnourished babies?
With one of the many micronutients -or even macronutrients missing?
Folic acid? Misfortune.
They just do what everybody does - must be right otherwise we would question ourselves.

So much on "Is is fair to force your personal decision  xyz on a child?"

Vegatarians are more healthy on this planet that meat eaters. They have
less cancer , less CHD, live longer.
You'll explain it with "those people are more health conscious, this is
the reason".
*Can* be. Is it good or bad?

Amadeus
Who was forced to eat cooked calves feet soup by his parents. Because
they were convinced that it would be healthy.
A really bad experience.