Beware! There’s a new children’s book coming out this week. It’s called “Vegan is Love: Having Heart & Taking Action,” by Ruby Roth. A book about living compassionately surely needs a warning label, don’t you think? Fortunately, the U.S. media’s version of that label aired on Friday, April 20th on NBC’s The Today Show.
The show’s pre-recorded segment with Ruby Roth about her new book was a positive portrayal of vegan parenting. Ruby’s young stepdaughter indicated that her favorite food is KALE. Impressive! Fortunately, the nutritional integrity of a healthy vegan diet for children was not called into question…because it shouldn’t be.
Instead…great “concerns” were voiced by the 2 in-studio guests regarding the supposed use of “scare tactics” in the book (surrounding food as well as other issues of animal exploitation, such as animal testing.) To hear the guests speak, you’d think that Ruby’s book will scar children for life:
“There is so much fear in this book.” “Why do we have to scare them?” The book is “teaching kids to fear food.” Fear, guilt, “graphic pictures:” Very scary stuff.
But who is really afraid of this stuff? Is it really the children? Will they seriously be harmed by a book that honestly exposes them to the real world? Are children so fragile that they cannot handle the truth about animal exploitation, when it is presented with gentle candor and realistic illustrations? Will children truly react negatively, or will they logically respond with compassion and concern? Won’t children want to help animals and take action? I don’t think we give children nearly enough credit.
I think the adults are the fearful ones. Fearful and feeling guilty. It’s actually the adults who can’t bear to look at graphic pictures of animal slaughter. Adults won’t listen to the truth about unnecessary animal exploitation. Adults are resistant to change. Adults don’t want their routines disrupted, their palate pleasure disturbed, or their minds opened.
Are adults– parents– most of all afraid of having their own apathy exposed? If, for example, their children reads the book elsewhere and comes home to share the cruel truths with them…what then? How will they justify their own complicity in the violence? How will they try to convince their children that they do care when maybe they really don’t? Or, if they genuinely care, then how will they explain the hypocrisy in their actions? Children are quite capable of recognizing inconsistencies.
Let’s stop pretending to worry about the children. They’re just fine. Children are inherently open-minded, curious, and adaptable. Children very easily grasp the basic concept of Veganism, which is about non-harming. Young children, in particular, naturally consider animals their friends. Why would they want to hurt their friends?
“Vegan is Love” gently asks young readers to take personal responsibility in the form of taking actions that help make the world a better place for animals. Children are not afraid to do that. They are not fearful. Adults could learn a lot from children.
Here is a perfect example of what I’m talking about, written by my vegan friend from Indonesia:
“I did a talk on Veganism to a bunch of 7 year olds. They totally get it. We also went to a local market in Indonesia and one of the kids happened to see a chicken killed. During the subsequent talk about what happened, children mentioned how horrible that was. I said, I know, but how to you think the meat comes to you? One little girl said, ‘I think it’s mean. That chicken wants to have a family and look after its babies too!’ I said ‘I agree with you,’ and she said, completely off her own back, ‘I don’t think I want to eat animals either!’ Kids get it.”
Check out Ruby Roth’s website here: http://wedonteatanimals.com/
(Picture is my copy of Ruby Roth’s first book, “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals”)
Freeheel Vegan 
4 comments
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April 22, 2012 at 9:34 PM
EvolotusPR/KeziaGary (@Evolotus)
Thanks! The market for this book is the generation that’s going to clean up the mess left by our parents that we aren’t doing enough to fix. When I shared one of the articles about the book on my page, I appreciated this parent’s comment: “Do these “experts” know how readily available the images of REAL animal cruelty are online? What do the “experts’ recommend that a parent tell a child who’s seen the most horrific examples of humans tormenting animals for money? Or doing it simply for thrills, such as in ‘crush videos’? The truth is out there for kids to see, it’s NOT going away, and I recommend that parents get out front on this so they don’t have to explain to their kids later on why they lied to them about this; this isn’t Santa Claus or the Easter bunny – this is life and death and torture.”
September 17, 2012 at 10:46 AM
Sarah Blake
As someone who works with children, I completely disagree. Will some get this? Most certainly. Will some be horrified? Yes. I agree that kids are naturally open-minded, but they are also curious and are constantly weighing good versus evil without as much perception of the gray area (they see things in terms of black and white with no gray up until a certain stage of development). Some people mentioned that this book talks about how veganism is love, but it implies that if you are not a vegan, there is hatred in your life. So if a child picks this book up, reads it, and comes from a non-vegan home…. he or she may have serious questions, fears, and confusion about his or her own family. I’m sorry, but I do not think kids should be subjected to that. Do I think kids should be educated about veganism? Sure. There’s nothing wrong with teaching kids about things like that – so long as it’s done correctly and so long as the kids are taught that many people have different lifestyles and those people shouldn’t be judged for those lifestyles.
April 9, 2013 at 12:18 PM
Maddie
Sarah- that is exactly the point being made here.
You begin your argument by being concerned for the few children who may be horrified to learn where their food comes from, but it quickly devolves into your true concern- having your own lifestyle put into question and feeling judged because of it. Which is the true heart of the resistance to educate our children about the values of a vegan lifestyle.
You emphasize the “gray area.” What, exactly, do you perceive the “gray area” to be? Children often do see things in black in white, because that is what they are taught. Sharing is “good,” hitting is “bad,” the characters in the violent children’s stories no one seems to be concerned about are “good” or “evil.” And you know that when children read this book, they will perceive eating animals as “bad” and being vegan as “good.” Clearly, you think this idea is misguided. It is a fact- we have evolved to a point where we can lead healthy lives without exploiting animals or consuming them. We do not need to eat animals. So, why is eating animals “good?” Because it is so engrained in our society? Because it tastes good? Because learning to live an alternative lifestyle to the one presented to you as a child is challenging and overwhelming? Is that the gray area? For those who have taken a critical look at animal agriculture and accepted that there is no moral way to be complicit in it’s continuance, we also see it as black and white. The gray area is your resistance to the truth, and your resistance to change.
Vegan is Love. That is true. Changing your diet and lifestyle to save the lives of other creatures you feel compassion for is an act of love. To imply that you, as a non-vegan, have “hatred in your life” is also true. Perhaps you are unaware of the full extent of the violence inherent in animal agriculture. You are not a “hateful” person, but the system you support is hateful and merciless. I believe many people do not know the violence they support. I do not see them as “hateful.” However, when the truth reveals itself- you have a clear choice. You can choose to remain ignorant to the suffering of billions of animals, or you can choose a more compassionate lifestyle that is better for animals, for you, for the environment, and for the world. What is that quote we love to teach children? “Be the change you wish to see in the world.” Exactly.
Now here’s where your commentary gets really interesting:
“So if a child picks up this book, reads it, and comes from a non-vegan home… he or she may have serious questions, fears, and confusion about his or her own family.”
Yes! You can probably take out the “may have” part. They will most certainly have questions for their parents about why they choose to eat meat, dairy, and eggs, if it means subjecting animals to a violent life, and gruesome end.
This is my favorite part:
“I’m sorry, but I do not think kids should be subjected to that.”
The children aren’t really being “subjected” to anything uncomfortable or unsettling. Children love learning and asking questions. Your true concern seems to be for the non-vegan family members that now have to try and justify their eating habits to a child who has been taught all their short lives to treat animals with gentle caring and respect. I’d venture to say the rest of their books and their Disney DVD collection also have taught them that animals are much like them- with individual personalities and feelings. Which is true of animals. And now you are stuck trying to explain the “gray area,” and why eating animals is actually fine because you have always eaten animals, and bacon just tastes so, so good.
“There’s nothing wrong with teaching kids about ‘things like that,’ as long as it’s done correctly.”
Things like that? I’m just wondering what the other “things” are. Lifestyles alternative to the mainstream, that you seem to imply are inferior to your way of life? Hmm…
How does one teach children about veganism “correctly?” Without judging the lifestyles of others? That’s really funny to me, because I can’t think of a dietary lifestyle that receives more judgement than veganism. Let me ask you- if this book was never published, would you have gone out of your way to teach your children about being vegan and “things like that” without being judgmental of the lifestyle? How, exactly, does one teach children the basic foundation of being vegan- choosing to live without exploiting animals because we love animals and we care about them- and also explain “but lots of other people choose to eat animals, even though it isn’t necessary, and it hurts and kills the animals, but that’s okay…” Try explaining that to a child. Gray area, right? Perhaps you are afraid that those children might make the independent choice to commit to being vegan- and how that will affect you?
I thank you for your commentary, Sarah. I have a lot to think about today, and look forward to answering some of the questions I’ve presented to you. They are not rhetorical, by the way. Feel free to add further incite. I hope you have a lot of thinking to do today as well…
All my best to you, Sarah, with compassion and love-
Maddie
April 9, 2013 at 12:25 PM
Maddie
I would also like to add that I became a vegetarian at the age of 9. One day, I simply realized that animals have to die in order for me to eat them, and I didn’t think that was “fair.”
I went home and told my mother, who didn’t initially believe that my decision would last long. From that day forward, I didn’t eat red meat more than once or twice a year until the end of high school. I didn’t offend my family. I actually, didn’t even ask them challenging questions about their own choices. I simply asked that I have vegetarian options during family meals that were meat-based. My family supported me and continues to do so. My younger sister is also a vegetarian, which I assume is in part to the example I set for her. My brother, mother, and father have never been vegetarian and I have never gone out of my way to make them feel uncomfortable about it.
Truly, the consequences of teaching children about the vegan lifestyle are positive ones…