Whoo Hoo

[Live Free]

My husband is making progress the past couple of days. I am totally impressed and can see that he is respecting my wishes on what my baby should and shouldnt eat.

He did not give her any meat today, but I am sure he was dying too. (My baby was asking to eat the meat) I also told him that if my baby is asking for fries and pizza, she is developing an addiction to the food.

Since I told him that he hasnt taken her to eat fries or pizza.

Can anyone elaborate on why my baby wants to eat meat?

Teresa

[Arky]

Well, it's fatty and salty (a criticism which, as you rightly point out, can also be levelled at fries and pizza, the latter also containing surprising quantities of sugar, too) - both are potentially addictive tastes. Add to that the fact that (unless it's organic) meat is often chock full of hormones which I would never wish an adult to consume, much less a growing child.

I'm sure others will offer plenty of potential reasons, too. Have you read (more importantly, has your husband read) Howard F. Lyman's Mad Cowboy? Lyman is the ex-cattle rancher who, along with his co-defendent, Oprah Winfrey, the beef industry tried to sue for telling the shocking truth about the practices in the industry (Lyman is intimately familiar with his subject matter because he used to own and run a huge cattle ranch himself!). It's disturbing reading and I doubt your husband would be so tempted to offer your daughter meat after reading it. Also check out John Robbins' 'The Food Revolution', which covers a broader range of issues in meat production, not just beef.

If the prospect of your husband feeding your daughter meat really concerns you, then you should strongly encourage him to read:

Lyman's book (covers the industry practices they don't want you to hear)

Robbins' book (ditto Lyman but with greater scope and more rigorously authored)

Colin T. Campbell's 'The China Study' (this book is simply astonishing in it's scientific credibility and in the conclusions of the rigorous research contained within). Although I am not personally a vegan, Campbell's research does offer a highly persuasive argument for severely restricting consumption of casein (the protein in milk) and animal flesh (with regard to the milk/casein issue, do bear in mind that the study examined adults, not babies/toddlers). Note that, while other vegan-orientated books set out with a moral agenda, Campbell's offering originally had no such vegan agenda whatsoever - it simply documents the research conducted on a HUGE population sample (together with the stunning lab research preceding the population study), the scientific (as opposed to moral) conclusions of which compellingly point to a 'predominantly' vegan dietary ideal.

In fairness, two good balancing books would be Weston Price's classic 'Nutrition & Physical Degeneration' and Pottenger's classic 'Pottenger's Cats', both of which extol the virtues of whole, raw foods, although not particularly decrying animal-derived products.

Regardless of your moral and/or current dietary standpoint, useful and valid conclusions may be drawn from each of the above 5 books which, with careful and educated planning, can be moulded in whichever direction you choose to take your diet, but above all they will inform you greatly and, taken together, on balance, will almost undoubtedly lead you in the general direction of a minimal animal-produce diet - possibly, if not necessarily, an entirely vegan one. I choose to eat an overall high proportion (80-85%) of raw foods, and an overall high proportion (95%) of non-animal-derived foods - what little animal-derived foods I do consume are categorically organic or wild - not mass-farmed, and not tampered-with. If I have interpreted your post correctly, it seems to imply that your husband is not averse to feeding your child fast-food, and so I'm guessing he isn't necessarily all that rigorous about the organic status of any morsels of meat he feeds her? If so, then, in addition to the issues at the top of this post, there is the ever-present issue of MonoSodium Glutamate, which food processing firms love to include in their goods at every possible opportunity. This is a very bad substance for a developing brain to have to deal with, quite apart from the potential for it to encourage addictions to certain foods laced with it.

With no moral agenda in saying this (as I said, I am not vegan), I believe you are wise to question your daughter's eagerness to consume meat. I take my hat off to you for being a responsible parent. If this is at odds with your husband's views on your child's nutrition, and you are struggling to impress upon him your concerns, I assure you that, if he reads the above books, he will certainly never view food the same way!


J.

[twinyoga]

How old is your baby?

[Live Free]

She is nearly 2 years old.

Teresa and Mae
http://www.angelfire.com/in4/everything4m/ourfamily

[Arky]

Lovely pics, Live Free. Your daughter looks very energetic and healthy! Looks like she has a very loving, if mischevious, father, too! ;)


J.

[twinyoga]

My twins are 16 months old. They are still eating some animal protein (maybe once or twice a week) almost always organic. They eat a very whole foods diet and lots of raw, but I've chosen to not introduce them to all raw or all vegan for many reasons.

Anyway, I'm glad your husband is listening to you. Doesn't that make it easier? My husband completely respects how I feed the twins.

Have a good evening.

by the way...great photos. You two are lovely.

[RawTruth]

This is so different from our other thread about him feeding her meat and other things against your wishes. It seems that you two are communicating better about a shared vision for your daughter's health.

Very simple. She wants it because it's being eaten in front of her! Children want whatever their parents are eating (which is a very simple demonstration of how important what we DO is rather that just what we SAY) Also, cooked food is addictive, ya know.

If your husband is not the reading type, why don't you rent Supersize Me and you both watch it together after the baby is asleep one night.

[Live Free]

Thanks RAW TRUTH, I think that is an excellent idea. I wonder if my nephew owns the movie.
I am trying to get my nephew to move from NY to NH. We'll see.

Teresa and Mae
Live Free