Yahoo Lifestyle 
Mum sparks furore admitting she feeds daughter's vegan friend 'meaty meals'
A mum has been slammed online after admitting she feeds her 12-year-old daughter's vegan friend 'meaty meals' during sleepovers.
Taking to Reddit to ask people what they think of her methods, she explained Em's (not her real name) family maintain a "strict vegan diet where she isn't even allowed to drink milk."
"Em is bright young girl and she's a good friend to my daughter but I noticed how much smaller and paler she is compared to my daughter. I think it's likely tied to her family's diet," she explained in the post, which has since gone viral online.
"So whenever she is over I always make a big meaty meal for them. Last weekend I made some cheeseburgers and steak for them on the grill with a big glass of milk. For snacks I give them some of my venison jerky. For breakfast I typically make a big plate of scrambled eggs and bacon again with a big glass of milk."
RELATED:
She adds that Em always "wolfs down" whatever she makes and "always politely asks for more".
"I have to say every time she leaves it looks like she has a healthy glow to her. I know I probably shouldn't be doing this but I think Em is a bit malnourished (nothing against vegans or anything). She knows she'll get in big trouble if she tells her folks. (I think she fibs a bit to her parents about what she eats).
"[Am I the a***hole] for letting my daughter's vegan friend eat meat?" she concludes, asking the Reddit community.
The post has been flooded with over 3.3K comments, with most people agreeing it was not her place to judge the other family's diet and choices.
"'I think Em is a bit malnourished’ is where I deemed you the a**hole. You are absolutely judging her family, and her family's diet, and you are doing this out of some misguided form of activism. You think you're the hero here saving her from some injustice," one person slammed the mother.
"Stop substituting your judgements about how this kid is raised for her parents'. She's not your kid," another agreed.
While a third wrote: "You are not her doctor. This isn't your choice to make. Undermining her parents' dietary choices is going to do more harm than good for her."
Another suggested the child was old enough to make up her own mind about what she eats.
"My only thoughts are that at 12, her friend is certainly old enough to decide if she wants to be vegan or not. I suspect her choosing not to be would not be well received at home hence her sneaking around," one person wrote.
And there were some who defended the woman's move, with one person writing: "If she didn't want to eat it, or it impacted her values then she wouldn't... Just because she has been raised vegan, her family is, doesn't mean she wants to be."
Never miss a thing. Sign up to Yahoo Lifestyle’s daily newsletter.
Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@verizonmedia.com.
