Raising Veg Kids
FOLLOW US!
  • Blog
  • Veg Pregnancy
    • Veg Baby Shower
  • Veg Babies
  • Veg Kids
    • Fun Activities/Products
  • Animal-Friendly Vacations
    • Animal Sanctuaries
  • Holidays
  • Contact Us

Highlights from the Children's Area at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival

3/6/2013

8 Comments

 
It was exciting to be part of the recent NYC Vegetarian Food Festival on March 2-3. I coordinated the first-ever children's area and I was also a speaker on the topic of Raising Vegan Kids. Here are a few highlights from the inspiring weekend!
Picture
Kids are the future of the vegan movement, so it's crucial that we involve them at events, conferences and festivals. Thank you to the NYC Veg Festival for offering a dedicated space just for families-- a place for parents to stop by and pick up information about raising vegan kids, and where kids could participate in vegan-friendly activities that promote kindness and compassion towards animals. The kids and their parents were inspired and empowered to make a difference for animals, the environment, and their own health.
Picture
With the help of my husband, I set up the children's area literature table with coloring books, wristbands, bookmarks, tattoos, comic books, stickers, and other materials for kids and their parents. We also had fun, giveaway prizes. Thank you to all the wonderful organizations for participating including Teachkind, Vegbooks, Mitch Spinach, Today I Ate a Rainbow, Youth Empowered Action (YEA) Camp,  Kids Gone Raw, Grey2K USA, and the individuals who participated including NYC Vegetarian and Vegan Families Meetup members, Lottie Hanson and Christina Burke, HEART Humane Educator, Kim Korona,  Institute for Humane Education graduate student, Kate Skwire, Vegbooks Outreach Coordinator, Jennifer Gannett, Super Sprowtz founder, Radha Agrawal, Certified Holistic Health Coach, Ellie Aaron Chef Maddie Sobel from PCRM (Physicians for Responsible Medicine), Fiona Walsh from the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, nutrition and wellness consultant, Jennifer Medley,  and Vegan Chef and Yoga Teacher, April Dechagas.

We also had a table for kids to play the animal-friendly board game, Fur & Feathers, as well as table filled with printouts to color, including this fun Vegan Plate page. Another table was set up for the activities, including making healthy vegan snacks such as rice/kale balls and rice cakes with hummus/apple butter/apple sauce spreads, seeds and grapes used for making faces. There was a mat for kids to sit on and read from our kid's vegan library with books provided by Vegbooks. There was also a table set up for puppetmaking.


Also, congratulations to Danette Suarez who guessed how many fruits and veggies were in this jar (below). She guessed the exact number- 401!! The prize.... a Rainbow Kit donated by Kia Robertson from Today I Ate a Rainbow! Danette is a second grade teacher so she is looking forward to using it in her classroom!
Picture
Guess how many fruits and veggies?

Here are photos from the children's area...

Such a wonderful, jam-packed weekend full of activities to inspire and empower kids to be kind to animals...and eat healthy! Thank you to all who participated and made the children's area special for all of the kids and parents who stopped by.


                   
                               My Talk on Raising Vegan Kids
Picture
I shared personal experiences as well as ideas, tips and resources I've gained from researching and talking with other vegan/vegetarian parents.

Laying the Foundation Early to Raise a Compassionate, Healthy Child


Pregnancy

Research shows that what a woman eats during pregnancy may shape food preferences later in life. In the womb, the baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid a day and this fluid is flavored by the foods and beverages the mother has eaten. So what you eat in pregnancy can result in preferences for certain foods for a lifetime. In other words, if you eat broccoli while you're pregnant, there's a much better chance your baby will like broccoli. So for the sake of your baby, eat a varied, healthy diet and skip the soda, chips and ice cream! 

Research also shows that the foods our children eat in the first 15 years of their lives is critical and has more of an impact in determining later diseases and illnesses than the last 50yrs of your life.


Here are a few tips to help develop HEALTHY eating patterns in children:
Healthy eating is really 2 parts: It’s what we DON’T feed our kids (animal products), and its about what we DO and SHOULD feed our kids. Healthy eating is about adding nutrient-dense foods into your diet that fight cancer and other illnesses, and provide phytonutrients to keep us healthy. (Read: Disease Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Dr. Joel Fuhrman)

Be Consistent: it can take up to 15 times exposure to a food before a child accepts/likes a food. Don't give up!

Be a good role model: you can’t snack on oreos and potato chips and expect your child to eat carrots and celery. Let your child see you eating healthy foods. Eat together.

Cook and bake with your kids: kids are more apt to try something that they’ve helped make. My daughter helps me by mixing and pouring ingredients, mashing up tofu in her hands for tofu scramble, ripping kale, and adding fruits to the blender for green smoothies. An added bonus is that she often eats half of it before the recipe is even finished! Buy kid-friendly baking tools, and a fun apron. This also reinforces science/math/motor skills!


Bring kids grocery shopping: let them pick out foods that they already like and also challenge them to find new foods that they want to try. Adults should do this too!

Grow vegetables in your backyard or windowsill if possible. Go to a farm to see vegetables growing in the ground. Also, pick-your-own fruits and veggies in season.

Remove the competition: just as you remove meat and dairy from your households, you should also remove the junk and processed foods. If kids are hungry and there isn't any junk food around, they'll be forced to grab something healthy to eat. Keep fruits and veggies visible out on the counter so when kids are hungry, that's the first thing they'll see/grab.

Redefine the word “snack” dessert” etc: snacks don’t have to be crackers, chips, ice cream, or sugary stuff, they can be what we typically view as breakfast, dinner, or side dishes. (Ex. pieces of roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, chunks of tofu). Dessert can be fruit, not ice cream. Try freezing 3 bananas and then blending them in a processor/vitamix, and you instantly have creamy banana ice cream using only one healthy ingredient (add peanut butter too)!

Be Creative: make art/faces out of fruits and veggies. Put food on a kabob. Use cookie cutters to make shapes. Tell a story about a bunny who loved carrots, or Mitch Spinach, etc. Kia Robertson from Today I Ate a Rainbow recommends making it fun!


Doctors- Dr’s receive little to no nutrition education (20hrs average, but some don't receive any training) in med school. Their courses have a heavy emphasis on treatment and pharmaceuticals, rather than prevention. It’s likely in regards to nutrition that you know more than them. Dr's always want to fatten up thin kids to get them on par with the rest of the kids in this country (obesity epidemic!), but because veg kids often eat more fruit, veggies and other lower calorie but higher nutrient-dense foods instead of high-calorie, high fat foods such as doritos, ice cream and mac & cheese, then it's common sense that they will be thinner.

Don’t worry about being perfect: the typical standard American toddler eats the same few foods over and over (chicken nuggets, mac & cheese, ice cream, pizza) so by not feeding these foods, you’re already ahead of the game! It's not about purity, it's about the overall picture.



SHOCKING STATS!

1)    Protein- if you’re eating a sufficient caloric diet, then it’s almost impossible to be deficient in protein. The protein myth in this country was created by meat industry, and we typically get 400x more protein that we need. Animal protein is what’s killing us! According to Forks Over Knives...“We’ve never treated a single patient with protein deficiency, yet the majority of patients we see are suffering from heart disease, diabetes and other chronic diseases resulting from trying to get enough protein”


2)    25% toddlers between 1-2yrs old eat no fruits/veggies at all!

3)    American kids eat less than 2% of their entire diet from fruits/veggies! They move into adulthood eating 90% of their calories from dairy products, white flour, sugar, and oil.

4)    Heart Disease risk factors are being seen in kids as young as 10yrs old.

5)    CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has predicted that this is the first generation of children that may NOT outlive their parents.

6)    By the time American children are 15 months old, French fries have become their most commonly consumed vegetable.



Social Side
Kids don't want to feel left out or different; they want to fit in with their peers. So it's our job as parents to help them with this. There are also ways for kids to gain a better understanding and appreciation for why their family is choosing a vegan diet. Here are a few suggestions: 


Visit a farm sanctuary- so kids can get up close and personal with rescued animals. These sanctuaries are very successful in creating a powerful, long-lasting connection to animals. Kids are less likely to want to eat animals after meeting them. Since most vegans don’t visit zoos, this can be a good replacement for that.

Make holidays and events extra special- you can come up with new  family traditions, but try to also include some classic traditions that other kids will be doing- just do it with a vegan twist. Nowadays almost everything can be "veganized." For example, you can make a vegan gingerbread house, color wooden or paper mache eggs instead of dying real eggs, snack on vegan jelly beans, and make vegan candy corn for Halloween.

Read kids books that affirm vegan values- where animals are respected and shown in a positive light, rather than being used by humans in exploitative situations such as in zoos, circuses, and horse-drawn carriages. Skip the books that show kids eating hot dogs, drinking milk, eating ice cream, fishing, etc. Vegbooks is the best online resource for finding veg-friendly books. Also read books about brave people throughout history who were once viewed as being different and in the minority such as those who worked for the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, and civil rights but were later viewed as heroes, who despite challenges, spoke up for what was right.

Find a vegetarian/vegan parenting group in your community, and if there isn’t one, start your own. It’s really important for kids to be around other veg kids, and it’s also a great resource for veg parents to get together with other like-minded parents to exchange advice, ideas/tips, recipes, etc. If you live in the NYC area, join the
NYC Vegetarian and Vegan Families Meetup.

Show your kids the power of activism. If they feel strongly about a specific animal or issue, encourage them to join a protest, write a letter to a newspaper, have a vegan bake sale, hand out literature, or create an art project. They’ll most likely have fun doing this, and it will teach them to be a voice for the voiceless.

Remember there are opportunities for teaching kindness and empathy all around us- here in NYC every time I step outside I come across pigeons, squirrels, and bugs such as spiders, ants and flies. Teach kids to respect these not so cute and cuddly creatures as well. Encourage your kids to stop and watch their behaviors. Instill curiosity and reverence. Model kindness by teaching them to never intentionally step on creatures/animals, chase them, or hit them.

Take advantage of social media to create a virtual support community. Ask questions, get advice and share some of your own tips and ideas with other vegetarian/vegan parents. Follow on Twitter & Pinterest and LIKE on Facebook any and all pages related to vegan kids/vegan parenting. You will be exposed to wonderful articles, recipes, ideas, and inspiration.

8 Comments

The Cruelty Behind Dog Racing

12/13/2011

3 Comments

 
Greyhound racing is a cruel "sport" in which animals are forced to race around tracks for the sake of entertainment. The wonderful Christine Dorchak, the President of GREY2K USA is raising awareness about the abuse that these dogs endure in the dog racing industry, and is fighting on the front lines to end this cruelty. Read her inspiring post below to find out how you can help. 
   
Picture


Guest post by Christine Dorchak, President of GREY2K USA
 My name is Christine Dorchak and I am a dog lawyer.  That’s right, I went to law school just so that I could help dogs. As President of GREY2K USA Education Fund, my specialty is greyhounds. Every day, I work to pass laws to end dog racing and save the gentlest dogs in the world from lives of terrible cruelty.  

At racetracks across the country, greyhounds are kept confined in warehouse-style kennels, inside small, stacked cages which are barely large enough for them to stand up or turn around.  If you can imagine being in a small elevator for 20-23 hours a day, then you will know how a greyhound feels all the time. 

When let out of their cages to race (and for people to bet on), these poor dogs face the risk of terrible injury. They suffer broken legs, they break their necks, and they also experience paralysis, seizures and heart attacks. There are twenty-two dog tracks in the United States, and thousands of dogs get injured each yeah while racing. And sadly, a dog who is injured may not be adopted.

Picture

I know what it is like to get hurt because when I was younger, my dog Kelsey and I were run down by a speeding train. I hurt my back and could not get up by myself for a long time. I had to learn to walk and talk all over again because my injuries were so severe.  Kelsey  broke her hip and actually had it surgically replaced.  Boy, did we need help!
Unlike many greyhounds, we were given a second chance, something which we really appreciated. That is why we decided to dedicate our lives to ending dog racing. We want all greyhounds to live like other dogs, in loving homes with adoring families, and not be killed when they no longer make money. You can see my story and meet my dogs Kelsey and Zoe here.

Picture



If you would like to join our team, please watch our video and then request one of our activity kits. We will send you a poster, magnet and coloring book!



 




Also, check out our wonderful new books about greyhounds. Pele’s Forever Home tells the story of an adopted greyhound and Daisy’s Great Escape describes the cruelties of the racing life through a greyhound’s eye. You can order these online right here.

Lots of kids have been working to help greyhounds and you can encourage your kids to help too!  A wonderful group from the Prospect Academy in Cambridge, Massachusetts even made a movie! Watch it now. 

 


Although my dear Kelsey passed away at the age of fifteen, she lives on in the work we do at GREY2KUSA and the GREY2K USA Education Fund. Today, Zoe and I and the whole greyhound team work each day to fulfill Kelsey’s promise to give greyhounds the second chance they deserve.
Picture

Thank you to Christine and the rest of her team at GREY2K USA for shining a spotlight on the suffering of greyhounds in the dog racing industry.


Editor's Note: Read my review of Pele's Forever Home at
Vegbooks.


Christine A. Dorchak is the President and General Counsel of GREY2KUSA. She has worked as Research Director for the New
England Anti-Vivisection Society and is a former manager of the Ellen Gifford Sheltering Home for Cats. In her free time Christine hosts a local community television program and enjoys spending time with her four cats and greyhound Zoe. A long-distance runner all of her life, she has competed in six Boston Marathons to date.


3 Comments
    Picture

    About Me

    Robyn Moore is a mom to two kids, whom she and her husband are raising vegan. She has a master's degree in elementary education. She has a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University and a certificate in Humane Education from the Institute for Humane Education. She has organized the kids area at the NYC Vegetarian Food Festival since 2013, and is the organizer of NYC Vegetarian & Vegan Families Meetup, a book reviewer for VegBooks, and has taught English in Nepal, volunteered helping animals in South Africa, and lived abroad in Switzerland.

    Picture

    Archives

    November 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    March 2014
    December 2013
    August 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011

    Categories

    All
    100% Pure Kids
    21 Day Vegan Kickstart
    50 Awesome Ways Kids Can Help Animals
    Alicia Silverstone
    Alternatives To Coloring Eggs
    Alvin Ailey School
    Animal Friendly Vacations
    Animal Rights Coalition
    Animal Sanctuary
    April Dechagas
    Babe
    Battery Cage Hens
    Blackfish
    Blinders
    Books
    Books About Animals
    Bunnies
    Camp Kindness
    Catskill Animal Sanctuary
    Celeste Hill
    Chicks
    Chloe
    Chloe Coscarelli
    Chloe Jo Davis
    Christina Burke
    Christine Dorchak
    Christmas
    Coconut Whipped Cream
    Colin Campbell
    Coloring Easter Eggs
    Compassionate Kids
    Cow
    Crazy Rumors Lip Balm
    Cruelty Free Easter
    Cynthia King
    Cynthia King Dance Studio
    Dairy
    Dairy Cruelty
    Daisy’s Greyt Escape
    Dallas Rising
    Dog Racing
    Donny Moss
    Ducklings
    Easter
    Eco Birthday Party
    Eco Kids
    Egg Industry
    Eggnots
    Elephants
    Elizabeth Forel
    Ellie Aaron
    Empathy In Children
    Environmental Camp
    Equine Advocate
    Eric Hopf
    Factory Farming
    Factory Farms
    Friendship Soup
    Fruits
    Fruit Turkey Centerpiece
    Fur
    Fur And Feathers
    Fur & Feathers
    Garlic- Onion- Beet- Spinach- Mango- Carrot- Grapefruit Juice
    Gentle Living
    Gingerbread House
    Green Birthday Party
    Gretchen Primack
    Grey2k Usa
    Greyhound Racing
    Greyhounds
    Halloween
    Happy
    Healthy
    Healthy Eating
    Healthy Eating Kids
    Heart
    Heidi Rogers Mystic
    Help Animals
    Hillary Feerick
    Horse Collapse In Nyc
    Horse Cruelty
    Horton Hears A Who
    Hospcotch Nail Polish
    Hsus
    Humane Books
    Humane Education
    Humane Educators
    Humane Kids
    Humane Society Of The United States
    Ihe
    Ingrid E. Newkirk
    Ingrid Newkirk
    Institute For Humane Education
    Isa Chandra Moscowitz
    Isa Chandra Moskowitz
    Jeff Hillenbrand
    Jeff Repanich
    Jennifer Medley
    Jenniffer Gannett
    Jessica Almy
    Jill Fehrenbacher
    Joel Fuhram
    Josh Latham
    Kate Skwire
    Kathy Stevens
    Kc Theisen
    Kia Robertson
    Kidlicous
    Kids
    Kids And Animals
    Kids Book
    Kids Books
    Kids Gone Raw
    Kids Helping Animals
    Kim Korona
    Kind Kids
    Kindness
    Liz Longacre
    Lottie Hanson
    Lush Bath Bombs
    Maddie Sobel
    Marsha Rakestraw
    Meatless Monday
    Meet Your Meat
    Michelle Carr
    Michelle Schwegmann
    Milk Cruelty
    Mitch Spinach
    MOGO
    Moon Cake
    Nathalie Vanbalen
    New Year
    Nora Kramer
    Nyc Horse
    Nyc Vegetarian Food Festival
    Owen Ford
    Pcrm
    Pele
    Peta
    Peta Kids
    Rainbow Food
    Rainbow Kit
    Raising A Vegan
    Raising A Vegetarian
    Raising Compassionate Kids
    Raising Vegan Kids
    Raising Veg Kids
    Robyn Moore
    Rory Freedman
    Ruby Roth
    Sarah Gross
    Seaworld
    Skinny Bitch Bun In The Oven
    Social Justice Kids
    Star Cupcakes
    Storytime
    Susty Party
    Switch Witch
    T. Colin Campbell
    Teaching Kids About Animals
    Teachkind
    Terry Hope Romero
    Thanksgiving Kids Crafts
    That
    The Coaltion To Ban Horse Drawn Carriages
    The Rainbow Bunch
    The Rescue Princesses
    The Secret Life Of Mitch Spinach
    The Seed A Vegan Experience
    These Little Piggies Have Tofu
    Tilikum
    Today I Ate A Rainbow
    Tumeric Dye
    Turkey
    Vegan African Safari
    Vegan Babies
    Vegan Bake Sale
    Vegan Baking
    Vegan Ballet Slippers
    Vegan Birthday Party
    Vegan Camp
    Vegan Candy
    Vegan Christmas
    Vegan Christmas Cookies
    Vegan Classroom
    Vegan Conference
    Vegan Cookies
    Vegan Cooking With Kids
    Vegan Crafts
    Vegan Cupcakes
    Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World
    Vegan Dance
    Vegan Dye
    Vegan Easter
    Vegan Easter Cookies
    Vegan Easter Eggs
    Vegan Eggs
    Vegan Families
    Vegan Family
    Vegan Food
    Vegan Food Coloring
    Vegan Gift
    Vegan Gift Basket
    Vegan Gingerbread House
    Vegan Girl
    Vegan Goodie Bags
    Vegan Halloween
    Vegan Household Cleaners
    Vegan Icing
    Vegan Is Love
    Vegan Kid
    Vegan Kid Necklace
    Vegan Kids
    Vegan Kids Books
    Vegan Kids Crafts
    Vegan Kids Gifts
    Vegan Mac And Cheese
    Vegan Macaroni And Cheese
    Vegan Parent
    Vegan Parenting
    Vegan Party Decorations
    Vegan Party Favors
    Vegan Personal Care
    Vegan Pregnancy
    Vegan Present
    Vegan Product Guide
    Vegan Products
    Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes
    Vegan Recipe
    Vegan Safari Vegan Kids
    Vegan Soup
    Vegan Sprinkles
    Vegan Teacher
    Vegan Teen
    Vegan Teenager
    Vegan Thanksgiving
    Vegan Treats
    Veg Babies
    Vegbooks
    Vegetables
    Vegetable Soup
    Vegetarian Babies
    Vegetarian Camp
    Vegetarian Easter
    Vegetarian Family
    Vegetarian Kid
    Vegetarian Kids
    Vegetarian Safari
    Vegfamily
    Veg Family
    Veggies
    Veg Kid
    Vegkids
    Veg Kids
    Vegkins
    Veg Parent
    Whales
    Whole Foods
    Wooden Eggs
    Yea Camp
    Your Time Travels
    Youth Empowered Action Camp
    Zebra
    Zoe Weil

    RSS Feed

    Picture
Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from dcysurfer / Dave Young