School teachers telling my kids being a vegan is unhealthy

[Vegan Fruitbat]

I have 4 children they are 6, 9, 10 & 12 they are all at primary school my oldest will be at high school in august so he will be coming home for lunch so he can have a proper vegan lunch cooked by myself, BUT my other 3 children their school only do vegetarian meals and look at you strangely when you mention the word vegan like its child cruelty.... SO

I have to send my children to school with a packed lunch so keep them on 100% vegan life style

Last week my 9 year old daughter said the class had a talk about ways to keep you healthy and my daughter had put her hand up and said being a vegan is the best way to be healthy I was shocked when the teacher replied that my daughter was wrong and eating meat is good for you and it gives you protein my daughter tried to tell her that you get all the protein you need in your vegan meals but the teacher brushed her off and changed the subject....

This really gets me angry its hard enough changing my kids to vegans with out teachers at their school telling them its unhealthy

does any one else have this problem with the schools their kids go too ?

[topview.]

Give your daughter a big hug. Life if full of opposition & anytime we are going against the culture, there will be conflict. Just tell her not to worry, people don't know any better. Encourage her to nod, write it on her test and don't worry about it. Food is like religion - it is better not to talk about it.

Our kids get the same stuff at school. Don't let them sweat it and don't sweat it yourself unless somebody is holding your kid down and forcing them to eat junk.

[vgpedlr]

Schools are just part of the society at large. They reflect the cultural norms. Unless you live in a society that embraces vegan ism, it is unrealistic to expect support from an institution. It is also unfair to the teacher, who is just a regular person, to expect that they transcend cultural conditioning while on the spot, in front of an audience. What if the teacher promoted veganism? How well would that work? And vegan diets are often unhealthy.

It's unfortunate that your family must deal with this, but any time you go against the prevailing culture, you will encounter resistance. Take solace in that what you're doing does matter, and people are watching, even if they say nothing. Be the best example you can be. You never know who will be inspired in the future.

[StarchHEFP]

I have 4 children they are 6, 9, 10 & 12 they are all at primary school my oldest will be at high school in august so he will be coming home for lunch so he can have a proper vegan lunch cooked by myself, BUT my other 3 children their school only do vegetarian meals and look at you strangely when you mention the word vegan like its child cruelty.... SO

I have to send my children to school with a packed lunch so keep them on 100% vegan life style

Last week my 9 year old daughter said the class had a talk about ways to keep you healthy and my daughter had put her hand up and said being a vegan is the best way to be healthy I was shocked when the teacher replied that my daughter was wrong and eating meat is good for you and it gives you protein my daughter tried to tell her that you get all the protein you need in your vegan meals but the teacher brushed her off and changed the subject....

This really gets me angry its hard enough changing my kids to vegans with out teachers at their school telling them its unhealthy

does any one else have this problem with the schools their kids go too ?

What a horrible thing for the teacher to do. A teacher has a duty to encourage children to express their feelings and views. I think a constructive way for your daughter to deal with her feelings and express herself is perhaps to write the teacher a letter talking about her whole foods, plant based diet and how it makes her feel. Perhaps you can go to this website: http://www.healthyschoolfood.org/nutrition101.htm and print the graphic on the processed and animal-based foods that people eat. Reassure your daughter that in New York State, there is a school that has gone completely vegetarian and that it is definitely the right approach (on healthyschoolfood.org there is a detailed description of this school). Try to get "whole foods, plant based" as the description of the diet instead of the word "vegan". The teacher might equate "vegan" with child abuse because of stories such as these: http://www.salon.com/2014/06/26/is_veganism_child_abuse/ - try to see the story from the teacher's point of view, this word "vegan" is loaded with emotion for the teacher.