From the Desk of Miriam Stone

Book Review : Vegan is love : having heart and taking action by Ruby Roth – Children’s book

Miriam Stone

When our daughter was 7 years old she stopped eating chicken. She said she knew where they came from and she couldn’t eat them. Her refusal to eat pork, beef and fish followed. She would say “It has a mother. I can’t eat anything that has a mother.” Or “It has eyes. It can see the person killing it.” We waited for this obsession to run its’ course. This was the mid 1980’s and it wasn’t popular to be a vegetarian, or even heard of in some cases.

The obsession didn’t end. Her beliefs were very strong and she adopted a vegetarian lifestyle. There wasn’t much literature on the market at that time to help us balance her meals and make sure that she had enough protein in her diet. I consulted her pediatrician and he said that I was the mother and I should put my foot down and make her eat whatever I served.  That was our last visit to that doctor.
It was hard for her everywhere she went. Play dates, birthday parties, school lunches all posed a problem for her.

There were no books like Vegan is love: having heart and taking action. If you are not vegan  and you never intend to be, please take a look at this book anyway. Most of us live a conscientious lifestyle and this book gives some ideas of how we can change the world for the better. I liked it especially because it gives out ideas in baby steps making them doable. I wish that it was around when our daughter was young. We did our best to support her beliefs, and we were impressed with her arguments, but there was no support out there.

This book tells us things we can do to be kinder to animals and to the earth and you don’t have to be vegan or vegetarian to see the value in doing some of these things. One thing that I wish I had thought to do with my child is to check every product that I buy for a sign on the label saying that the company does not test on animals.
A common fallacy is that those who live a vegan lifestyle are zealots who compare all of us to them and find us lacking.

I can assure you that from my own personal experience with my child and with my co-workers, that this is completely untrue.
Do what you feel you can comfortably do. This book will have at least one thing that you may want to try with your child. You can teach environmental awareness to your children and you can begin at any age. Vegan is love is one book that can show you how.

This book as well as its companion book, That’s why we don’t eat animals, can be found in the children’s department under the name Roth.