Vegetarian diet could be bad for children- study
Could lead to irreparable physical and mental harm.
22/02/05 Parents who impose strict vegetarian diets on their children are doing them irreparable physical and mental harm, according to a study from the United States.
Removing animal foods from a child’s diet is "unethical" and damaging, and produces smaller, lethargic and less capable children, said Professor Lindsay Allen, of California University, who carried out a two-year study on 544 Kenyan children.
Her study found that small amounts of meat and milk in the daily diet of children doubled physical capability and enhanced mental acuity.
But her findings drew an angry reaction from Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle and celebrity vegetarian. He claimed: "These [studies] are engineered by livestock people who have seen sales fall off."
A vegetarian for 20 years, he said he had raised his children the same way "with no ill-effects".
