Phillip Owens: You do know that the major source of Vitamin D in non-vegan diets is cow's milk, right?! Well, cow's milk is fortified with Vitamin D. AKA: It's a vitamin D supplament...so if a non-vegan diet was so healthy why must omnivores get their D from supplamented cow's milk? Hmmm....

Jeremy, seattle, United States

I cannot believe all the apologists for the supposedly "healthy" vegan diet. If it is so healthy, why must its adherants be forced to take vitamin suppliments? Fact: humans have evolved as omnivores. We are neither carnivores nor herbivores. If you want "healthy" eat a balanced diet in moderation.

Phillip Owens-Thurston, Kenley, United Kingdom

Obviously, it's not the fact that the kids were vegan that was the problem - it was the poor nutrition. There are plenty of healthy vegans and unhealthy meat-eaters.

In fact, there is a HIGHER percentage of excellent health among vegans, and MUCH more disease among meat-eaters.

GoVeg.com

Mark, New York, USA

There are many vegans, and many have kids - they are not all ill! I' run a business that caters mainly for veggies and vegans and have met thousands - they're pretty normal actually. This is an abnormal incident, so we should assume an abnormal cause. Think nutrition - not just 'crazy vegans'. THINK

Damian, Portsmouth, UK

What nonsense! Why isn't this doctor speaking out on the dangers of obesity and the increased risk of heart disease, cancer etc. that has been shown to be evident among those that eat meat?

Rob Massey, Swadlincote, UK

“Some of them think we’re still monkeys that can live on fruit and nuts.”

Humans were never monkeys, we were PRIMATES. Thanks "Professor."

Kenneth Butland, Toronto, Canada

Militant Vegans Attack!!!!
Yeah, this is more than likely just an isolated incident, but to say that there is no way that the diet could have caused it is a bit foolhardy.
I would think that while the parents shouldn't be locked up, 12 years is a long time to let this go untreated.

John, Pittsburgh, US

Milk and meats nearly killed me 9 years ago. God's nature comprised of fruits and vegetables restored my health to better than ever.
Roland Lemay, Vancouver, Canada

Roland Lemay, Vancouver, Canada

He said: “Some of them think we’re still monkeys that can live on fruit and nuts.”

I don't know. There are some White nationalists in USA, Russia and Austrailia called World Church of the Creator, who are fruit and vegetable only, and they seem to be doing ok.

bob, Dallas, USA

This child did not suddenly wake up one morning with Rickets, and the article speaks of “multiple fractures”. This would be indicative of a long term chronic condition.

Robert, Dallas, Texas (occupied), CSA

If meat-eaters fed their child a diet consisting only of hamburgers and butter, would this article be titled, 'Meat-eating girl, 12, "has spine of 80-year-old?"' Didn't think so. When meat-eaters malnourish their child, it's called malnutrition. When vegans do it, it's called 'veganism.'

Michael Roberts, Cincinnati, United States

The thing is, if she only ate vegan and didn't take any suppliments, this is can happen easily. . Vegan diets are wonderful, but you have to take in account the vitamins and minerals you are missing out on and takes the according suppliements, it will affect your health in a negative way.

Allie Johnson, louisville, KY,

Are you kidding me, the human body is not designed to eat animal products, this is pure propaganda. Her illness is nothing to do with a vegan diet, I wonder if she were vaccinated? The Government are spraying the skies with chemicals, chemicals in the food, the water, poisonous inoculations etc..

Arthur Guy, Gloucester, England

Anyone that becomes ill from being on a vegan diet are not looking after themselves. In this case, i'm confused, the parents are established vegans, something has gone horribly wrong. People need to stop bad mouthing the vegan diet.

chloe, leeds, england

Dr. Joel Wallach, ND, DVM, PhD, is quick to deny vegan lifestyles. He says they are the most undernourished people in the world. He has statistics which show the death rate for vegans is higher than the national average simply because they do not, and cannot, get the daily required nutrition.

Paul Rusin, Holley, NY, USA

there are multitudes of vegans in India where vegetarianism is a way of life, and they are as healthy and robust as non-vegetarians. The Jain community follows a strict diet which does not even allow anything grown underground, and yet they, as a community, do not suffer from malnutrition .

Amina, Mumbai, India

There are thousands of vegan families here in the USA. I've never heard of anything like this. Many children are raised vegan from birth and grow to be some of the healthiest people around. I think they probably were not aware of the specific nutritional needs of vegan children.

Nunya Bizniz, Hell, USA

Well, Umm...This seems to me to be very Rare--It's the first case to be heard and there are, what must be thousands of vegans over the world. My children were raised vegan until about the age of 5 where their desires and peer pressure came into play. Vegetarian still and very healthy.

karen, New york city, usa

Seems to me that something as important to us as diet ought to be based on science not religion/belief.

gale, Milwaukee, USA

Golly, putting the parents in jail will help... no one.

Education is the answer, not incarceration.

Cecil, Na, USA

I understand wanting to get away from our unhealthy Western diets, but I don't understand veganism.

I just don't see how it's cruel or inhumane or unnatural to eat the (unfertilized) eggs and milk from animals.

I totally understand vegetarians. But vegans leave me scratching my head.

David, Seattle, USA

Strict diets given to kid causes malnutrition. I see this also with my adult friends who are strict vegans: they get exhausted very quick, their skelton structure looks like those we see in famine areas and they suffer sometimes from staph infections which create holes in their remaining flesh.

gmathol, Holualoa, USA

My kids eat all the meat and dairy they want. The more dairy the better! We are far from Vegan, and they are very healthy. Far from obese. They both stay at a constant 25% on the growth charts. Vegan diets can be healthy or not, as can omnivorous diets.

Amy, Fayetteville, GA, USA

What do you mean milk, meat etc are "not meant" for human consumption? Says who? My rule is this: if I can consume it, it's meant for human consumption. Beef. chicken ,eggs, milk (from cows)...all good. Things "meant" for humans: petroleum, hydrochloric acid etc. And idiotic ideas like "veganism".

Blaise MacLean, Bogota, Colombia

The problem here is not with a Vegal lifestyle (though I have concerns about giving kids too much soy) but rather with parents who were stupid and/or just trend-following. Either way, parents who abuse their kids this way should he charged, though I'm not sure jail is the best punishment.

Mike, NY, USA

Next Do you call the authorities on parents of fat children for Hardening of the Arteries, and Heart Disease. Freedom is not perfect, but it is a part of a civilized society. This article is punishment. Otherwise the article would give us statistical information on how often this had happened prior.

Ralph Turchiano, Buellton, U.S.A.

I believe the comments on here are really ignorant. It bothers me that now people are coming down on Vegans but not on the families who feed their kids that horrible cows' meat and milk which is not meant for HUMAN consumption.

Vegan Forever!!!!, Any, Country

It is not unusal in cases like this for the child to also suffer cognivtive diffculties and nerve damage. A growing child needs the B-Complex vitamins much more so than an adult. It is not just a vitamin D problem.
An adult can go vegan for a long time esp. if they make up the B-complex defiect

Douglas R. Chandler, Plano, TX, USA

While it is possible to raise a healthy vegan child, it takes a tremendous amount of effort. It seems these parents couldn't keep up with the consequence of their ideological choice.

People forget that going "back to nature" means a 20% infant mortality rate and losing all your teeth by age 25.

Jon, New York, USA

Why was this found out when she was 12?. Wouldn't annual exams show the progression of rickets and degenration of the spine? Did they not take her to the doctor? Rickets symptoms are easy to see. These include bowed legs, abnormal curvature of the spine, etc.

Kirsten, Dublin, USA

Continuing from my last comment; I've been vegan for a year, have a well balanced diet and do plenty of exercise, I'm healthier than pretty much all of my [non-vegan] friends
This girl is a part of the Bebo generation, find me one kid who doesn't spend too much time indoors and I'll shake your hand

Hattie O'Connell, Cork,

The D deficiency MIGHT NOT be due to inadequate diet & lack of sunlight.
There could be another medical factor such as a food tolerance.

Remember the boy who died from Salt poisoning - after years in prison for the foster parents it was discovered that it was due to a medical condition.

Deborah, Ramsgate, UK

The overwhelming majority of children that become malnourished are meat eaters, and is a result of a poorly planned diet.
Vitamin D can be obtained from sunlight, and all milk substitutes such as Soy milk. This poor girl's condition is the result of neglect, NOT veganism.

Claire, Wirral, United Kingdom

I would like to see aericles about "abusive, neglectful" parents who bring their children up on a meat and dairy based, fast food filled diet that causes their children to become obese and develop type II diabetes before they are out of their teens.

Angelika Stout, Long Beach,

Veganism is a superb lifestyle choice! These parents obviously didn't do their homework but that doesn't mean being vegan is unhealthy. A meat based diet, besides being incredibly cruel, is far more unhealthy than a plant based one.

Jacky, Gauteng, South Africa

I hope the little girl makes a good recovery.

I know several vegan families with children who have been vegan since birth and are in perfect health. This girl was obviously not on a properly balanced vegan diet.

George, Aberdeen,

Its very sad, but its important to remember this is exceptional, they should have sought advice from the Vegan Society. Ive met numourous life vegans (vegan since birth) with health well above average. Many non vegan children are suffereing health effects from being raised on meat and dairy diets

Vicky, Midlands,

Vitamin D can be obtained from sunshine for most of the year, even as far north as Glasgow.
'Well-known figures in the Glasgow vegan community' they may be, but they are not following Vegan Society guidelines.

Patricia Tricker, Bedale, UK

Clay should take a good look at his own teeth and then at those of any domesticated dog, and note the difference!

Patricia Tricker, Bedale, UK

Ignorance on the part of the parents no doubt contributed to the child's condition. Proper nutritional supplements are absolutely essential for ANY nonstandard diet, ESPECIALLY for children subject to them.

Brian Mora, Joplin Missouri, USA

Vitamin D is in fortified soymilk or breakfast cereals. D deficiency is NOT due to a *vegan* diet, rather it's likely due to a poorly planned diet, regardless of whether or not that diet includes animal products. Meat-eating children can get Rickets, too. That's why the US gov. fortifies dairy.

Elaine Vigneault, New York, USA

According to the American Dietetic Association, "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence." (J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 Jun;103(6):748-65.)

vana, örebro, sweden

Vegans always tell me that humans weren't meant to eat meat, that it's not natural. What they fail to realize is that humans have canines, and also humans can process raw meat, so long as it is fresh. Raw meat is only bad to eat when it's been packaged

Clay, toronto, canada

A vegan diet is healthful and does not cause rickets. Vitamin D's natural source is sun exposure. When sun is inadequate, vitamin D supplementation (eg, any common multiple vitamin) should be used. This is true for everyone--vegans and nonvegetarians. Meats and dairy are poor sources.

Neal Barnard, MD, Washington, DC, USA

Vitamin D fortified artificially in milk, whether cow's milk or soy - Of meat only liver is naturally abundant in vitamin D. *Sunlight* is the primary source, so was she in a cellar? or genetically susceptible to rickets type II? Or simply jumping to a kneejerk, uninformed, prejudiced response?

A Richard, Glasgow, Scotland

This article shows an infuriating amount of ignorance. Instances like this make headlines precisely because they are so rare. If you want to talk about dietary child abuse, we should be looking at the childhood obesity and illnesses caused by the overconsumption of meat and dairy in our society.

Annie Iacobellis, Ithaca, NY, USA

There are many reasons why people opt for a vegan diet, not least human health. Regardless of how you feel about farm animals if people were aware of the chemicals (in their feed) and drugs (to counteract diseases thriving on cramped conditions) used to grow them the meat would not seem so healthy.

Sheila, Dumfries,

The only thing wring here is the parents apparently didn't provide the needed supplements or alternatives to prevent this sort of problem. The vegan diet wasn't the problem...but the lack of knowledge and understanding of what it actually takes to eat a HEALTHY vegan diet.

Simone, Paintsville, USA

This happens to one vegan child and it makes headline news. Veganism gets trashed, and the parents get blamed too. Meanwhile, the hospitals are filled with sick children on mainstream diets of junk food, candy, fried food, and refined grains, and no one is blaming their diets, or their parents.

Dr. Doug Graham, Storrington,

Kids grow up healthy as heck on a vegan diet. Dairy (which has no vitamin D naturally, it's fortified) and fish is easily replaced with D fortified soy milk, rice milk, almond milk, supplements or good sunlight exposure. Vegan diet is not to blame. 99% of rickets cases are from non-vegan children.

Pete, Glasgow,

The skin makes its own vitamin D when exposed to sunlight and this is main source of vitamin D. Many of the 15-20% of adults in the UK with vitamin D deficiency have become so because they do not spend enough time outside. Just 15 minutes outside three times weekly from April to September is enough.

Sophie, Wareham, Dorset

I am a fit and healthy 61 year old and have been vegan for over 15 years. I do not think that a vegan diet is in any way unhealthy

John, Rutherglen, Scotland

Glasgow, in the late 1800s, was one of the rickets centers of the industrial revolution. (Loomis, WF Rickets Scientific American. Human Nutrition. ISBN 0-7167-0183-9).

For vegans living in polluted climates, shiitake mushrooms have the second highest content of "vitamin D" in the USDA database.

William Harris, M.D., Honolulu, USA