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Originally Posted by VEGANGELICA
Thanks for the support, Burning Down. I'm used to being called a 'mean mom' now for very minor things (such as I tell him to go to bed at 10:30 PM! And I don't let him play computer games until 2 AM!), so I take it in stride.  I know he loves me, even when he's upset.
The issue of what foods to offer kids *is* an interesting one. Your parents had an open-minded attitude of "meat or no meat" at mealtimes.
Given the negative health consequences of red meat, do you feel it is mean to offer meat to kids regularly? Generally, giving people something that increases their risk of mortality significantly isn't a very good thing to do, and especially not if they are kids.
In that recent Harvard study, it was found that "one daily serving of unprocessed red meat (about the size of a deck of cards) was associated with a 13 percent increased risk of mortality, and one daily serving of processed red meat (one hot dog or two slices of bacon) was associated with a 20 percent increased risk."
If I were offering my child something that increased his risk of mortality by 20%, I'd feel awful. 
My guess is most vegetarian or vegan parents do not offer meat at home, but I don't really know! I know so few vegetarians and vegans. |
No, I don't think it is mean of parents to serve red meat to kids for meals; however, I think that since nutrients found in red meat (iron, B12, protein) can be found in other food products, so cutting down on red meat/process meats is very possible for non-vegetarian families. Also, it may be easier on the budget since most cuts of red meat are more expensive, on average, than poultry or pork products.
My mom always followed the Jewish custom of not eating pork or consuming pork products so there was none of that in my house. I don't have a taste for pork at all (I have since tried it). She mostly served poultry and fish as the meat options, and occasionally red meat (like for a Sunday dinner or if we had guests over). Both my parents are also kind of picky eaters so I'm thinking that they may have only had a real liking for poultry and fish instead of other meats, and that's why we had it a lot, haha!
Regarding your last point - I also assume that meat is not offered in vegetarian households. It depends on the family though, and I do think that some veg parents are open to their children trying meat. Maybe not in the home, but somewhere else (like a friend's house, for example). One of my neighbours is actually a vegetarian, but her husband is not and neither are her young children (yet - they can determine their own diets as they get older).