Of course, food is often a touchy subject even in non-vegetarian homes. My desire to eat nothing but plain chicken and bagels throughout my childhood caused plenty of bitter fights, and contributed to my parents' early fear that my vegetarianism was just another form of pickiness. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I hated all foods with flavor so much, but I do know that kids start searching at a relatively young age for ways to exercise their own autonomy, and food choice is one of these ways. So should the children of vegetarians get to choose to eat meat?

Emily Sohn of the LA Times addresses several issues surrounding this question, including health. It's a common misconception that growing kids need meat to survive. I remember a sort of legend that made the rounds in college about a student who tried to raise her toddler vegan; all the kid's teeth fell out, and had to be replaced with metal ones. The metal is, I think, a dead giveaway that this story was bullshit (although I'd kind of like to get a look at little Johnny Steelfangs), but it's true that vegetarian and especially vegan diets for kids require a few tweaks. As Sohn says, small children may need calorie-rich foods like peanut butter because a vegetarian diet can otherwise fill them up without giving them enough energy. And breastfeeding vegan moms may need a B12 supplement. But horror stories aside, a meat-free diet shouldn't do kids physical harm.

Then there's the psychological angle. As Sohn points out, "school-age children in particular can become anxious when anything about them is different from their peers, including what they eat for lunch." This actually seems like an opportunity for educating kids about differences — after all, children are always going to stick out in some way, and if parents can teach them to stand up for what's in their lunchboxes, they may be better at standing up for what's in their heads.

What seems more difficult to negotiate is a kid's desire to separate herself from her parents — including their dietary restrictions. Of course, many parents exercise some control over what their kids eat, and in some religions, dietary rules have been passed down for millennia. But, as Sohn notes, "resentment can build up if foods are forbidden completely." And at some point, kids are going to have the opportunity to try a hamburger. Parents can tell their children why they believe vegetarianism is important, and they can make only vegetarian foods at home. But when it comes to the big, bad, omnivorous world, probably the best they can do is teach them to make informed choices and not to let anyone else think for them — including mom and dad.

Don't Make Food A Conflict For A Vegetarian Child [LA Times]
Nutritional Guidelines For Vegetarian Children [LA Times]

"Vegetarianism is an eating disorder," Coren writes, "It's a better eating disorder than many others, because at least it doesn't make you fat, and in general it doesn't cause you to wither away and die. But it does make you pale, and flaky, and unbelievably tedious to be around." First of all, no. Vegetarianism is not an eating disorder. Yes, it is true that many people with eating disorders will claim vegetarianism as a means to cut out several foods from their diets and excuse themselves from meat-laden meals, but to lump vegetarianism, a CHOICE, in with anorexia and bulimia, which are full-blown mental illnesses, is a bit offensive and ultimately ridiculous.

If Coren's argument was that vegetarianism, in certain cases, can be a symptom of an underlying eating disorder, I'd say he was right. But Coren argues that all vegetarians are simply attempting to adhere to a vegetarian lifestyle as a means of putting up a giant finger to the world: "It's why so many vegetarians have tattoos and exotic piercings (you know it's true). It's why anarchists, squatters, G20 protesters and art students are usually vegetarians. Frustrated that they cannot, and never will, control the world, or anything else of any significance, they starve themselves and carve holes in their bodies." Coren also notes that most vegetarians are girls, "because vegetarianism is a way of controlling one's food intake without drawing attention to one's vanity."

Coren argues that vegetarianism (as well as food allergies) is just a means of drawing attention to one's self, and states that maybe we'd all be better off if we stopped making a big deal about what we were eating, and just had a little meat now and then. He also pulls out the extremely tired (and debatable) "Hitler was a vegetarian, and he was crazy!" argument as a means to tie not eating meat with being a sociopath of sorts. "Meat tastes good. It carries vitamins and minerals with a unique efficiency that is critical to the maintenance of a healthy life. And it gives pigs, quite literally, a reason to live."

Perhaps Coren has never met a vegetarian who is sane, eats a proper amount of food, and maintains a healthy, meat-free lifestyle. Or maybe he didn't bother asking any vegetarians why they don't eat meat, as many people don't eat meat for religious reasons, or because of their stance on animal rights. The moral, spiritual, and ethical reasoning behind vegetarianism goes far beyond Coren's view that all vegetarians are attention-seeking tattooed anorexic anarchists who would rather ruin society than eat meat. Albert Einstein, on the other hand, once said, "Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet."

I think I'll go with Einstein on this one. Thanks anyway, Giles.

Do A Pig A Favour! Ban Vegetarianism Now! [TimesOnline]

Times writer Kara Jesella notes that many '70s feminists even used the phrase "I don't want to be a piece of meat. I'm not going to eat a piece of meat," as a rallying cry.

But, if vegan activists are speaking out about not eating meat for environmental reasons, should they be happy that more alpha males are eschewing steak because they see scantily clad women promoting that lifestyle? Despite their beliefs about sexual objectification? The question boils down to: do the means justify the ends? And speaking of ends, the appeal of veganism to the heterosexual bore might not be very strong in the first place: Johnny Diablo has already put his Gentleman's club up for sale because of poor attendance.

The Carrot Some Vegans Deplore [New York Times]

Earlier: Can Female Vegetarians And Male Carnivores Ever Find True Foodie Love?