A
Florida vegan woman who allegedly refused to take her underweight infant to a
hospital faces criminal charges.
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use
of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as following an associated
philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals.
A
follower of veganism is known as a vegan.
Distinctions are sometimes made between different categories of
veganism.
Dietary vegans (or strict vegetarians) refrain from
consuming animal products, not only meat but, in contrast to ovo-lacto
vegetarians, also eggs, dairy products and other animal-derived
substances.
The term ethical vegan is often applied to those who not
only follow a vegan diet, but extend the vegan philosophy into other areas of
their lives, and oppose the use of animals and animal products for any purpose.
Another
term used is environmental veganism, which refers to the avoidance of animal products on the
premise that the harvesting or industrial farming of animals is environmentally
damaging and unsustainable.
Sarah Markham was scheduled to go before a judge on
Tuesday in an effort to regain custody of her child.
In June, doctors discovered that Markham's baby was dehydrated and had lost 10
percent of his body weight.
The mother was told to take the child to a hospital
for treatment, but police say she opted not to do so. She was arrested, and CPS
took her child away.
A doctor had previously prescribed baby formula to
supplement Markham's breast milk, but she allegedly did not want to use the
formula because of her vegan beliefs.
Markham said she did not give the formula/medicine
that the doctor provided because she did not agree with the ingredients, which
she said came from animals, the police report stated.
Instead, investigators said she was using a soy
formula she purchased at Whole Foods.
She now faces neglect charges and is currently only
allowed to see the baby in supervised visits, WFTV reports. Her lawyer, George
Zimmerman defense attorney Mark O'Mara, says the charges are outrageous and
"not even close" to neglect.
“It's absurd. It's a mom trying to do the best she
can, acting as a vegan which she has the entire right to do taking care of her
child,” O’Mara told the station. "They've kept a child away from
mom."
The Academy of
Nutrition and Dietetics and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) agree:
Well-planned vegetarian and vegan eating patterns are healthy for infants and
toddlers.
Time and attention are
necessary to make certain young children, vegetarian or not, get all the
nutrients they need for normal growth and development.
For the first four to
six months, all babies do best with breast milk. Use iron-fortified formula
(soy for vegans) if breast feeding is decreased or stopped.
Cow’s milk, soymilk,
rice milk and homemade formulas are not appropriate for babies during the first
year because they have the wrong ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrate.
They
are also missing important nutrients for health, growth and development.
