Pete Evans slams vegan diet in neglect case

Celebrity chef Pete Evans has weighed in on a horrifying case of neglect in which a 20-month-old baby girl was left developmentally delayed and malnourished after her parents kept her from doctors and under fed her on an all-her a vegan diet.

The controversial chef spoke out in a lengthy Facebook post condemning the parents questionable choices, and focusing on the vegan diet itself as a cause and unhealthy option for growing kids.

The chef is know to raise eyebrows, but the latest comment struck the right cord, with many agreeing with his argument that children should be kept off a plant-based diet.

“I will repeat it again and again. Humans are omnivores (please look it up and understand that definition) and we are designed to eat meat in our diet,” he wrote.

“Children should not be on a vegan plant only diet. There is a mainstream push to turn people off all meat...”

While the recently neglect case certainly adds weight to his point, a combination of the plant diet, a lack of nutritional supplements, the amount of food being given and her lack of any vaccinations or a single visit to the doctors were all cited as contributing factors.

What the professionals have to say

The jury is still out on the health of a vegan diet for kids.

The overall consensus seems to be that there is no proven benefit to vegan diets in children, though medical communities remain divided with some strongly in support, and vice-versa.

In 2016 the US Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics published their position on vegetarian and vegan diets.

“Appropriately planned vegetarian, including vegan, diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits for the prevention and treatment of certain diseases,” they found. “These diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle.”

Meanwhile, the Better Health Channel Victoria says, “Strict vegan diets are generally not recommended for very young children.”

Though the vegan element divides the crowds said, the vegetarian diet is far less divisive and largely accepted as a nutritional option that calls for special attention to alternative sources of calcium, with meat not generally considered an irreplaceable part of the diet.

Pete’s call to action

The chef signed off the Facebook post with a call to action for parents.

“If you choose to eat a plant based diet as an adult then that is your choice and go for it, and many people I know love this and seem healthy,” he acknowledged.

“Others do not do well on this approach long term, and if ill health comes your way then simply look at what may be missing, but please please be wise with choices of what you feed your children.”

With the jury well and truly out, the chef may or may not have a point.

The Sydney Children’s Hospital provides factsheets on nutrition in plant-based children’s diets, for those who want to make up their own minds.

And it seems the chef may be steering clear of the kind of controversy recent comments have stirred up, not to mention his divisive new book Heal, though as his final comment proves, he’s more than happy to meet critics head on.

A pointed comment to women’s publications

“Before someone sprouts a Mamamia story written by a 20 year old intern of “Pete want to feed bone broth to babies” ....we always stated breast milk is the most nourishing food for a baby 1000%,” he wrote.

In 2015 his paleo cookbook for babies, Bubba Yum Yum: The Paleo Way, provided a bone broth recipe as an alternative to formula for babies which health professionals slammed.

Despite him also recommending breast milk as he stated, the bone broth remained dangerous for babies to drink according to health professionals.

Reported by the aforementioned women’s news site Mamamia, the matter was also widely reported by news outlets including the ABC and the Sydney Morning Herald.

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