PETA is looking at a new Nickelodeon release of childhood heroes, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, to re-boot the famous foursome's love of pizza towards - get this - a vegan lifestyle.
In a letter to the children's network, PETA Vice President Lisa Lange makes her case for this proposal to shift the team's iconic love of pizza toward a vegan diet.
Modern kids are embracing vegan food, so why shouldn’t the modern Ninja Turtles do the same? Vegan pizza is popular, and it’s healthier and far kinder to animals than the dairy cheese version. We think that’s something that the “heroes in a half shell” would support.While it may sound innocuous (and frankly, a bit silly) to suggest that a cartoon push a vegan lifestyle, but it is not all uncommon for cartoons to support "healthy" eating habits.
But is a vegan diet beneficial for children? Some doctors say no:
“Childhood is a critical time for growth and brain development,” Dr. Sheela Magge, an endocrinologist at Children’s National Health System, told Healthline. “There are critical vitamins and minerals which can be deficient in a vegan diet, particularly vitamin B-12, vitamin D, iron, calcium, zinc, and riboflavin. Vegan diets can also increase the risk of vitamin A deficiency. B-12 comes from milk and eggs and is a specific concern for people on a vegan diet. A lack of sufficient vitamin B-12 can lead to neurological symptoms. Children on vegan diets may also have slightly higher protein requirements than non-vegan children.”In fact, raising children on a vegan diet can be downright dangerous, leading to malnutrition. Proponents of veganism dismiss such claims as neglectful parenting, but if that is the case, why does PETA pawn off parenting responsibilities to fighting cartoon turtles? Dietary choices are critical to childhood development - Leo, Donny, Raph and Mikey should be leading that charge: parents and pediatricians should.
Reasonable people can disagree on the benefits of eating vegan for children and adults, but PETA's attempt to indoctrinate is clearly "Bogus, dude."
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