Nowadays, they are even imposing these dietary habits on their children, and if anyone dares to suggest that meat is essential for a growing child, they flip out.
This story here really highlights this isssue. A husband was secretly giving small bites of meat to his child, despite the child's mother strictly adhering to a vegan lifestyle. When she discovered this covert meat consumption, she became furious and is now threatening a divorce.
From The Daily Mail:
My wife and I welcomed our first child together four years ago and have been raising her as a vegan since birth, something that her mother was adamant we do, despite my serious concerns that it might negatively impact her development.
I have always been a big meat eater – I love nothing more than a great steak – but my wife decided to switch to a plant-based diet when we first started trying for a baby and was convinced that it played a part in us being able to conceive.
When our daughter was born, my wife insisted that we also raise her as a vegan, which I was really worried about to be honest, but I agreed because I wanted to give the mother of my child anything she wanted at that point!
Cut to four years later and my daughter is thriving. She loves food, has a great appetite just like her dad, and it's something that I've really enjoyed sharing with her.
Maybe a year or so ago I was eating a burger for lunch – my wife was out – and my daughter was fascinated by my food. I figured there was no harm in giving her a little taste to see how she handled it, whether it gave her stomach ache or anything like that, and she loved it.
Since then I've been giving her little bits of whatever meat I'm eating whenever my wife isn't around. Which was all great until recently when I slipped up and fed her some chicken at a picnic without even thinking about it.
My wife flipped out, started screaming at me that I was 'poisoning' our daughter and that I had no idea how she was going to react to the meat. At which point I had to confess that I'd actually been feeding her meat for a while now and that admission sparked another furious argument.
Now, my wife is threatening divorce and says she doesn't know if she can ever trust me with our daughter again. I understand she's upset that I kept this little secret from her – but I can't help but think she's overreacting?
Of course, she is overreacting.
It's unrealistic to expect a child, who has no concept of "good" or "bad" foods, to comprehend the intricacies of veganism. If they witness their father eating something different and enjoying it, it's only natural for them to be curious and want to try it.
This woman should seriously reconsider her priorities and reflect on whether a dietary choice is worth creating a divide within her family.
