Yes, there are children in good health!

“As a vegan vegan parent, there is less the right to make mistakes than other parents.” Donia, 32 years old and mother of a 16 -month -old boy, knows what costs to choose a vegetable diet for her baby. At the minimum cold, the company will indicate veganism as the source of its evils … “we do all as possible”

However, it is sufficient to type “vegan child” on a search engine to find alarmist articles published by doctors or French media: “dramatic risks”, “true mistreatment”, “pay attention to the deficiencies”. Regularly, the press also reports the death of live children, underlining the (presumably logical) connection between their food and their death, such as the Elle magazine, which the title in July 2019 “Death of a baby: vegan parents in the face of assimi”.

“We often stigmatize vegetable food for the risk of deficiencies they could generate, but this risk exists equally in the omnivorous population”, immediately clarifies Marie Gabrielle Domizi, dietician and president of the AV (National Observatory of plant foods).

Health benefits

In France, vegan lives undergo discrimination in the medical environment, in nursery and school kindergartens. At the end of 2024, a one -year -old girl lost her place as a kindergarten “because of her vegetarian diet,” said the media for 20 minutes. The plot weapon has also issued “worrying information”, at the request of the PMI (Center for Maternal and Infantile Protection), which believes this diet is “too restrictive”.

In reality, a vegetable diet can be adopted by birth, safe for the child if it is balanced, they say that scientists and specialists of the care on the subject. It would also be useful for his health, especially cardiovascular.

In 2016, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, an international association of nutritionists, positioned itself on the subject:

“The well -planned vegetarian food, including vegan, is healthy, adequate in terms of nutritional level and can be useful for the prevention and treatment of some diseases. This diet is appropriate for all periods of life, including pregnancy, breastfeeding, early childhood, childhood, adolescence, (…). “

In France, there are no official nutritional recommendations for vegetarian children (who eat dairy products -caseari and eggs) and vegan children, also called vegans (who exclude all animal products). On March 13, 2025, the National Agency for Safety and Environmental and Labor Labor (ANSES) finally published specific food reference parameters for vegetables, but only concern adults …

Lack of caregiver

“I did not find a doctor specialized in vegetable food to follow my children,” said Émilie Leblanc, a 39 -year -old vegan woman, mother of a 20 -month -old daughter and a 5 -year -old boy. Then, it formed on the topic and created an Instagram account, then a website and finally train for other plant parents. “I work with a French dietician specialized in plant foods,” said the designers with 5,700 subscribers on Instagram.

Because yes, there are many caregivers in France, such as the dietician Marie Gabrielle Domizi, cited above, or the nutritionist Dr. Jérôme Bernard-Pellet, co-founder of APSARES (Association of Health Professionals for Cives Responsible).

Often interviewed in the media, everyone denounce the conflicts of interest that binds some doctors to the food industry and influence their positions on vegetable food. Above all, because health workers do not have a training on the subject, indicates Marie Gabrielle Domizi: “For dieticians, vegan and vegetarian diets are not integrated into their initial curriculum, which forces them to train independently.

On this topic, Émilie Leblanc mentions the recent creation of the university diploma (DU) “Vegetarian supplies”, of the Sorbonne di Paris.

Impossible to eat vegetables at school

That is to say: vegan children (like adults) must Supplement absolutely to vitamin B12 Since it is the only vitamin “which is found exclusively in products of animal origin”, specifies the dietician Marie Gabrielle Domizi. Other elements, such as iodine, calcium, iron, zinc and omega 3, must be monitored, but can be found in vegetable products.

And the proteins, systematically underlined by omnivorous people? “This is a false problem because you just have to eat his hunger to cover your contributions,” says Dr. Jérôme Bernard-Pellet. “My two children are healthy and grow well, says émilie Leblanc. My son also has a high iron rate!”

But how to get the arrival? At school? Parents (in particular mothers, who take care of 70% of domestic tasks) must provide meals for their live children or receive them at home at noon, to avoid the canteen. Because it is impossible to benefit from a 100%vegetable diet at the public school, in France: “The communities put dairy products -caseari in all meals”, underlines Émilie Leblanc.

Waiting for a social change, some parents organize themselves to combat environmental vegetables: “I am about to form a group of vegan families in île-de-French, via social networks, explains Donia, mother of a 16-month-old son. When the son will grow up, he will understand that he does not eat like everyone else. It would be good that he is with other children who share the same path of life.

Resource To go further

Books

• Vegetarian childOpélie véron (the plage editions)
• Vegetarian childrenSophie Cottarel, Marie Laforêt and Opéie Véron (Editions Alternatives)
• Give your child in a different waySandrine Costantino (La Plage Editions)

Websites

• vegan-pratique.fr (from the L214 association)
• Vegetarisme.fr (vegetarian association of France)
• Vegetines.fr (by AVF)
• ONAV.FR (National Observatory for Consumption of Vegetable)
• Vegetical.com (by Onav)
• Petitmaisveggie.com (by Émilie Leblanc)
• Food-RESPONSIBLE.com (Association of Health Operators for Responsible Food)

Social network

• @pet_mais_Veggie on Instagram (by Émilie Leblanc)