Mainstream Mom Goes Veg
By Tammie Ortlieb
"During the summer, most of my nights are spent at the ball field watching my Little Leaguers hit, score, and run. Aside a lot crammed with SUV’s touting plates such as BZZYMOM, DREWZDAD, and 4BOYZ, phrases such as “Give it a ride” and “That’s ok, honey, you’ll get it next time” spill out of me as I become one with the splintered wooden bleachers. Dinner these nights will be a choice; a choice of hot dogs, brats, or a nice big slice of pepperoni pizza..."

Gabrielle: Six-Year-Old Vegetarian
By Jennifer Young
"'I don't want to eat animals anymore!' These words came out of my six year old daughter's mouth. Gabrielle had been leaning over my shoulder as I perused online articles about animal rights. She had become engrossed in one site in particular and bumped me out of seat to navigate the site herself. I used to be vegan as a teenager so the concept of an animal-free diet was not lost on me..."

No Cheese, Please!
By Mary Finch
"I am sitting on my couch pretending to read a book but in actuality I am listening to my two children, Rebecca who is six and Jarod who is four; as they play with their kitchen play set. It is one of their favorite games to play and they spend many an hour "cooking." I also save my empty boxes and containers from the health food store so that they have whole-wheat noodles, vegan sour cream and all kinds of vegan foods to cook with..."

What Kind of Animal Did This Used to Be?
By Tammie Ortlieb
"My own vegetarian inclinations began when my oldest was a little boy. During a carefully prepared, well thought out dinner - meat, bread, two veggies - the question would inevitably arise, 'Mommy, what kind of animal did this used to be?'"

Small Changes
By Tammie Ortlieb
"I have never read Diet for a Small Planet. I don't use tempeh or miso in my cooking. I don't even know what miso is. I carry a wool purse and wear leather shoes. And I'm certain that more than a few of the products in my home were tested on some sort of living creature..."

Would You Like Fries With That?
By Tammie Ortlieb
"I dished up some chicken nuggets for my six-year-old, a little honey mustard sauce on the side. Hands firmly planted on hips she informed me, “Oh, no. I can’t eat that. I’m a vegetarian.” And this from the most carnivorous child I know..."

Vegetarian Baby on Board
By Angelena Alston
"As a practicing vegetarian for over six years when I became pregnant it never occurred to me not to raise my child as a vegetarian. That sentiment changed when my son was six months old and his pediatrician, a family friend with over forty years of experience, firmly let me know that he felt it was time for me to introduce meat into my son's diet..."

Two Times Two
By Courtney Brown with Carol Laliberte
"My husband and I are very busy people! We are parents to two sets of twins, three-year-old boys, and a boy and girl, eight months. We have been vegetarians since the early nineties - before we even met. Our children have been vegetarians right from the beginning, since I had vegetarian pregnancies..."

Healthy Veggie Trio
By Patty Everett
"My story is about not one, but three healthy kids. I've struggled to raise three vegetarian children with a part-time vegetarian spouse and a totally carnivorous family. I have repeatedly heard that "Kids need meat to be healthy!" or "You can't keep them from everything that is unhealthy." While the latter may be true, my reasons for not eating meat did not focus on the health issue..."

A Life Without Happy Meals
By Carol Laliberte
"A mother at my son's playgroup recently asked Andrew what his favorite thing to eat at McDonald's was. "Mc Donald's?" I said looking at Andrew's bewildered face. "He has never been to McDonalds," I told her. "What?" she said shocked. "Why not?" Now here is where things get fuzzy for me as a vegetarian mother raising a vegetarian son..."

Growing Compassionate Kids
By Dana Anderson-Villamagna
"As my 5-year-old daughter and I drove down our suburb's busiest street, she saw a group of peaceful brown cattle grazing in a lone pasture, now almost completely surrounded by mega-stores and parking lots. The cattle are one of her favorite sights. 'Do farmers eat those cows, Mom?' she asked..."

Food Fight!
By Tracy B. McGinnis
"After the last piece of carrot was flung onto the floor, I scooped my son out of his high chair and warned him, "OK, I guess you're just going to go hungry." No sooner had I said that, then he was off playing with his toys, not bothered by the peanut butter he had smeared into his hair..."

Zander's Vegetarian Beginning
By Anna Richardson
"At the age of 11, I decided to become a vegetarian. I made the decision after a sixth grade field trip to a kosher slaughterhouse. It was not easily taken in my carnivorous family home. Most of my sisters and brothers did not understand why I would make such a decision. They all had questions about the field trip, and wanted to know if I would miss eating favorite meat items..."

A Healthy 7-Year-Old Veggie?
By Kausalya Santhanam
""So…what do you give her?" My 7 year olds' pediatrician asked with enthusiasm, during her recent physical. My daughter weighed 61 lbs on the scale and measured 52 inches tall..."

How I Went Vegan
By Melanie Wilson
"When I became pregnant with my first child in 1997, I started thinking about how life would change with a baby. I read a lot, and I put some serious thought into childrearing. At the time I was a devout meat eater, but wanting the best for my child, I decided I would raise her vegetarian. I know that sounds strange..."

Little Baby, Big Baby
By Sarah Martin
"The comments I receive when people learn that my son Sagan is still almost exclusively breastfed are strangely similar to the comments my daughter received as a baby. I'm told that he's too big to subsist on breastmilk alone and that I should be giving him solids daily. Maya was a tiny peanut, and I was often told that she needed solids so she could gain some weight..."

From Preemies to Perfection
By Linda Kligman
"Last June, I gave birth to two wonderful girls, Alette and Oonagh. While I was pregnant I read in the twin books that it takes a dedicated approach to breastfeed twins and the first month was exhausting! But eating is a pleasure, and one of my greatest physical accomplishments was sustaining the three of us on my vegetarian diet..."

Setting the Stage for Understanding
By Amy O'Neill Houck
"'Selma doesn't eat Goldfish,' I find myself saying to another Mom at our weekly playgroup. My daughter turned two in March and is only just beginning her interaction with food that doesn't come straight from my breast or hand. I haven't discussed vegetarianism with her, and I am now starting to think about how I should..."

Veganism for the Four-Year-Old
By Kelly Dyer
"Veganism isn't about drama for Shae; it's just his life. Shae doesn't eat animal products because he loves animals. One quirky thing about our family is that when he asks me questions about food, farms, life, anything really... I tell him the truth….not the graphic truth, but the edited for-his-little-ears truth..."

"Mommy, I Want Steak"
By Patty Everett
"When these words came from my then 4-year-old son, I shuddered. He had been a vegetarian since birth. I had been a part-time vegetarian for many years. But, when pregnant with him, I decided to make this a full-time commitment. My husband had always been a meat eater, but since meeting me, his meals had consisted of decreasing amounts of meat..."

Two Daughters: One Veg, One Not
By Christina Francine
"What happens, when one of your daughters is a vegetarian, and the other isn’t? Throw in non-vegetarian parents and mealtimes would certainly be interesting..."

Dad Around the World
By Paul Wilson
"I had been consuming whole and organically grown foods for several years before I met my wife, having lived in a rural setting in northern Minnesota doing organic gardening and harvesting, growing my own food. I lived mostly on whole grains, fresh dairy products and fresh fruits and vegetables..."

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