Sarah Anne Markham, 23, is facing charges of child neglect after she allegedly refused to take her newborn baby to a hospital despite the child being dehydrated and underweight. The police reported that the reason was that Markham is a vegan and objected to the formula prescribed by the doctors.
The arrest was triggered by a report from a pediatrician who told Markham that her baby needed to be hospitalized for treatment to address the low weight and dehydration issues. Markham instead went home and then refused to open the door when police arrived. According to the police report, the officers proceeded to call a locksmith to enter the apartment where they found Markham who insisted that she wanted to get a second opinion form a “vegan doctor.” Police also report that Markham said that she would not give the formula/medicine that the doctor provided because she believed that some of ingredients came from animals. She is also quoted as saying that she purchased organic soy formula and, when asked by the officers how she knew that it was safe for a newborn, she allegedly said that if Whole Foods Market sells it then the formula doesn’t contain any animal parts and, therefore, must be safe.
While she agreed to take the baby to the hospital, police said that she waited an hour and was then placed under arrest. Her baby was placed into state custody.
The case could raise the question of where to draw the line between parental authority over nutrition and child welfare. Presumably, a child can be raised on a vegan diet and develop in a perfectly healthy way. The courts tend to accept the view of doctors when they concluded that a child is at risk. However, vegans insist that babies can be raised on a vegan diet. I would think that vegan parents have a legitimate objection for prescribed formula on the grounds that the product contains animal residue or ingredients — just as religious diets are given accommodation. In this case, the report of the hospital will be key to any prosecution and there could be a contest of experts on the degree of dehydration and underweight readings.
Source: ClickOrlando
You obviously did not read the information. She was refusiing to give it the kind of fomula that it needed. She lied. She never took it to the Alternative Doctor It was stilll Malnorished
im not vegan or remotely vegetarian. i believe kids need meat to grow, but if they sell that kind of formula then she had a right to give him it. to say shes neglecting her own baby is outrageous .
Ryan,
“our food products are not fortified to the extent of which they should be.”
“Food products” are not food. They are manufactured. If all the world’s manufacturing plants suddenly shut down, there would be no food products. What then for supplementation? But, there would still be farms and gardeners. Are you suggesting that carrots, quinoa, and garbanzo beans should be fortified? Would that make them GMOs?
“The saturated fat content in animal products tends to be higher than that of plant products. Any cholesterol that you consume directly in your diet is excess. While it can’t possibly be healthy, a little extra might not damage your health to any significant extent.”
“While it can’t possibly be healthy,” Why can’t it? Because the government and other officials have said so since the 60s?
You may enjoy reading Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes about the history of the ‘saturated fat/cholesterol is bad’ argument. He also discusses the physiology behind overeating. Dr. Robert Lustig, pediatric endocrinologist, also discusses some of these issues in his book Fat Chance. Dr. Terry Wahls also discusses the physiology in relation to autoimmune conditions, particularly MS (see her book The Wahls Protocol).
“There is no way that omnivores could possibly be as healthy as vegetarians regardless of how much they fabricate that they do not have a guilty conscience for purchasing animal products from farms of which raise the animals under terrible conditions.”
This sentence does not make sense. The end does not follow from the beginning. Also, who has fabricated what? From what statement of mine does this stem?
On a side note, I completely agree with you that factory farmed animals are less healthy (in so many ways) and that the conditions in which they are raised are inhumane. This is why a growing number of people are choosing to purchase pasture-raised animal products.
“does not necessarily mean that they are better off eating animal protein. The purpose of predators is to control the population of herbivores and other animals.”
Do you notice the contradiction between sentence 1 and sentence 2?
If their purpose is to control the population of herbivores (etc.) by eating these animals, then they have evolved to eat animal protein. Yes, predators do get some partially digested plant material from eating the intestines of other animals, but having watched barn cats eating rats, they do eat such critters right down to the heads: muscles, bones and marrow, and all–lots of animal protein.
Meant to say that “many” Americans have a tendency to overeat as opposed to under eat, happypappies.
Plants do not have nerves.
I did say that I thought there was a very good chance that everything in Linda Menos’s article could be debunked, but didn’t get around to all of the points.
Not all vegan dog foods are created with soy and I didn’t say that your dog has to eat soy. last time I checked, an average dog lived to 13 years old. Bramble lived twice that long so something had to be done right. Just because predators have shorter intestines does not necessarily mean that they are better off eating animal protein. The purpose of predators is to control the population of herbivores and other animals.
You can easily obtain far more essential amino acids than you need from plant proteins. The definition of a complete protein is a source of which contains all of the 9 essential amino acids in proportion to human needs. Take any random 20 gram source of protein and if this source contains at least the same or more of each essential amino acid as to 20 grams of overall human DNA, then it is complete. Americans have a much larger tendency to overeat then under eat and the human body does not convert most of the protein that it is going to create human DNA with until your asleep. With that said the proteins you eat throughout the day can easily amount to complete sources of protein even if you don’t go out of your way to eat complete protein sources.
Hey there Prarie, Rose, we do not live in a vegetarian world so our food products are not fortified to the extent of which they should be. There are also a lot of junkaterians out there that don’t care so much about there health. Supplementation is a very easy route though.
There is no way that omnivores could possibly be as healthy as vegetarians regardless of how much they fabricate that they do not have a guilty conscience for purchasing animal products from farms of which raise the animals under terrible conditions. Also, animal meat is harder to digest which means that it is more acidic and toxic. Animal meat has an addictive satiety which causes humans to eat more overall. Its not that vegans can’t grow muscle, its that omnivores tend to be more overweight when you compare both groups. The saturated fat content in animal products tends to be higher than that of plant products. Any cholesterol that you consume directly in your diet is excess. While it can’t possibly be healthy, a little extra might not damage your health to any significant extent.
What the studies indicate about converting omega 3 and 6 fatty acids is that the human body lazily converts essential fats once it has too many. The daily recommendation for ALA is 1,600 miligrams for every 2,000 calories consumed. That is very easy to obtain. I don’t know exactly when a particular human’s body will slow down the rate of conversion, but it is easy to exceed that amount. The human body probably feels that it is not worth the effort to spend energy converting essential fats because it has already obtained enough. The body does not know for sure that it will continuously receive enough essential fats so it still continues to convert, but at a slower pace.
@Ryan Jensen-
you need to check my link on the B12 because it shows everything on seaweed that has ever been tested. It is long but it shows false data and everything. There is no seaweed that has enough B12.
I simply do not understand why you and your doctors have such a problem with meat protein. It is not cruel. Do you think plants cannot feel because their consciousness is different or something? I don’t get it. I have stated to you thyroid problems and protein problems with soy and infertility problems and you have rejected them out of hand. You tell me to feed my dog food he is highly allergic to. That’s right. How ridiculous can you be. Dogs are from the wolf family. You might have a leg to stand on with humans being from grass eaters but dogs are definitely carnivores and they are definitely allergic to gluten and soy. That’s why they are coming out with all the grain free foods now. Can’t you see how we keep having to jerk things around? It’s ridiculous what people have to do to eat vegan. Eat tofu. Drink almond milk. It costs a freaking fortune. It is not natural. I am all for a natural diet. I think it’s great to eat lots of fruits and veggies, but fgs, you need animal protein even if it’s eggs and fish. You need it. Or you have to take vitamins. No matter how clear the lakes are, there isn’t enough algae in them for B12. There isn’t enough plankton in the ocean to make B12 for human consumption. Why? Because we need to eat meat.
Not because of our teeth or our ancestors or anything else but because of our nutritional needs now. For whatever reason right now we require animal protein as plant protein does not have the essential building blocks.
So we must agree to disagree. I don’t care how many people you march across the paper. I am an old woman. I am a truth seeker and I have seen a lot of life and I know all about salesmanship and it must be nice to afford supplements to your “Vegan” lifestyle. That is not natural.
Ryan,
“Prairie Rose, there is a very good chance that sarah does not have any deficiencies at all. she could very well be healthier than most omnivores. ”
Or not. Considering the data (see quote from Nature below), her chances of being deficient are as high as 1 in 3–and that is only for B12.
“The [B12] deficiency prevalence among infants reached 45%. … Deficiency among pregnant women ranged from 17 to 39%, dependent on the trimester. … Higher deficiency prevalence was reported in vegans than in other vegetarians. ”
The citation for the above quote is in a previous post of mine earlier in the discussion; scroll up if you’d like the link (if I cite it here, my post will be caught in moderation due to too many links).
That said, the article focused on the baby being dehydrated and failing to gain weight, which is associated with breastfeeding problems. There is no mention of a B12 deficiency diagnosis. Yet, considering the prevalence, it is likely.
“There have been many studies that claim that vegetarians live longer than ominvores. This would make sense because we are naturally herbivores.”
Or, vegetarians tend to be more “health conscious”. The following study notes that there really isn’t much difference in mortality between health-conscious vegetarians and health-conscious omnivores. http://www.ijbnpa.org/content/2/1/4
“The most underestimated health benefit of a vegetarian diet is a cleaner conscience. purchase factory farm dairy and have a guilty conscience for doing so. The cows are not fed a grass diet and don’t get to go outside or at least not near as much as cows that don’t live on factory farms.”
A vegetarian diet has nothing to do with where one purchases milk. Omnivores are quite capable of purchasing milk from farmers who humanely pasture-raise their cows.
“Make sure to regulate your blood sugar spikes and get enough vitamin B3, B6, C, zinc, and magnesium.”
Omnivores are capable of regulating their blood sugar and getting enough vitamins.
“Studies have shown that omnivores bodies don’t convert essential fats at as high of a rate as vegans do. The forms of essential fats of which are typically found in animal products don’t require conversion so they are much more potent. These studies indicate that the human body slows down the conversion rate of essential fats when it does not need to obtain anymore.”
What you’ve written here seems to indicate that omnivores have a slower conversion rate of essential fats because they obtain sufficient amounts (they don’t need to obtain anymore), whereas vegans have to convert essential fats at a higher rate because they have not obtained sufficient amounts.
Regarding B12 and seaweed:
https://www.mja.com.au/open/2012/1/2/vitamin-b12-and-vegetarian-diets
Appreciate the update Darren. I will use this as a future reference and thank you.
Here are some more links Leslie. Vitamin B-12 is naturally found in seaweeds. some more than others, but some sources are said to have adequate proportions. Humans also could have eaten certain plant parts such as leaves which can contain vitamin B-12. Roots are supposed to be a good source of vitamin B-12. The water itself does not have vitamin B-12, but the mud does. humans have been known to eat soil, which is a good source of vitamin B-12. It was said that it used to contain even larger amounts of nutrients just decades ago. Even dogs have been shown to live long lives on a vegan diet.
http://www.nature.com/news/2008/080110/fullnews.2008427.html
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/punmed116528394?dopt=Citation
care2.com/greenliving/vegetarian-dog-lives-to-189-years.html
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed11079463
Ryan, your comment at 8:50 went into moderation because it has more than two hyperlinks. I dereferenced to of the hyperlinks to make this work. If you have more than two, the others may be placed into another comment.
I unfortunately can not copy and paste, but i will leave some links. If a chimpanzee has been seen eating dirt, than humans could very well have too. Not to mention, I would imagine that there are plenty of wild animals out there that have nutrient deficiencies. Humans are not natural animal eaters as we had to build weapons to make it easier to kill them. Chimpanzees have also been shown to do this. Lets just say we are omnivores, giving you the benefit of the doubt momentarily. Once fortification comes into the debate, then all of your arguments are over anyways.
http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html
http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html
breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/5-reasons-you-shouldn-t-avoid-eating-beans
huffingtonpost.com/kathyfreston/plant-based-diet b 198138.html
Ryan, your comment at 7:38 went into moderation because it has more than two hyperlinks. I dereferenced to of the hyperlinks to make this work. If you have more than two, the others may be placed into another comment.
I will look into your links later. However, there is overwhelming evidence that humans are herbivores. i will get a link in here soon. The only sources of animal prey that humans can capture and kill are vulnerable sources such as babies and leftover kills. However, we do not have stomachs of which can tolerate decayed food. We also do not have any special sensories to locate animal prey. The only way a human can find animal prey is if they happen to stumble across it. Humans did get vitamin B-12 from the beginning. Untreated water contains vitamin B-12 and we also got it from being dirtier. Dirt contains vitamin B-12 and chimpanzees (out closest relative) has been observed eating dirt. It seems gross, but dirt is neutral tasting. Chimpanzees get between 95-99% of their diet from plant sources and most of what remains comes from insects and in particular termites. However, humans generally do not find insects appetizing whether they are raw or cooked. We only find meat appetizing if its cooked for the most part. The gorilla’s closest relative is also the chimpanzee, but it is said it eat far less than 0.1% of its diet from insects and secondarily, animal sources. I read that gorillas only eat non-plant food when they are out of options. Gorillas walk on all fours while humans prefer to just walk on their feet and gorillas also have much longer and sharper canines than humans do. They resemble a predator more than humans do overall I bet. Horses are natural herbivores and they have canines.
Why does the vitamin B-12 have to be naturally occurring? I don’t know what was wrong with Sarah’s baby. You say that she didn’t bring her baby into treatment. I wouldn’t have done that. However, I thought this formula was some type of special formula to treat whatever her baby was diagnosed with. Sarah said that she thought the baby was ok because it was having regular bowel movements.
News
Science
Anthropology
Humans hunted for meat 2 million years ago
Evidence from ancient butchery site in Tanzania shows early man was capable of ambushing herds up to 1.6 million years earlier than previously thought
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/sep/23/human-hunting-evolution-2million-years
There is also a site in Germany 400 thousand years ago where they developed tools to hunt and kill horses. Humans are violent. Not peaceful, Surely you remember the Paintings on the Caves at Lascaux, France in the Paleolithic Period. Ryan, I don’t know if you studied Humanities in College or not or Geology or World History but this is definitely on the Timeline. It is also on the Timeline for Biology. Here is another one that is even older – A French cave containing the world’s earliest and best preserved cave paintings has been inscribed on Unesco’s coveted World Heritage list.
A marvel of prehistoric art, the Grotte Chauvet-Pont d’Arc showcases breathtaking figurative drawings of mammoths and other art carved on its walls more than 30,000 years ago. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/france/10920920/French-cave-paintings-inscribed-on-Unesco-World-Heritage-list.html
They worshiped these animals —- not plants — They received power from them. You need to read the article above that I posted to Prairie Rose. The baby was dehydrated. She did not get it checked out. It still was sick when they took it to the hospital. She was carefree when they took her to jail. She was a seventh day adventist which was the basis of her vegan lifestyle.
Vitamin B12 is Water Soluble but it is not found in untreated water. That is ridiculous allegation and you will see why when you read my links. Chimpanzees eat Meat so I don’t know what on earth you are talking about with dirt. You don’t supply any links This is absurd and not scientific.
Happypappies, soy products don’t necesarily contain aluminum. Phytates are said to have health benefits. There is no scientific data that says consuming phytates leads to mineral deficiencies. The minerals are very easy to compensate for. You can use microbial phytase in processed soy products to eliminate phytates too. I am skeptical that babies need to consume cholesterol any more than adults do. However, i will look into that more. I would not be the least bit surprised if every claim made against soy in that article can be debunked. I also would not be the least bit surprised if vegetarian infant formulas can be as healthy or even healthier than breast milk.
Ryan how can that be so when you can’t get naturally occurring B12 in Soy Formula? That is a Preposterous statement. Humans are Omnivores. They were not born Vegans. That is a chosen lifestyle that does not give you all of the Nutrients you need therefore it is inferior. Soy also affects the Thyroid and it affects allergens like Cows milk or anything else. You are skeptical of a natural diet that humans need and you keep saying this woman is healthy when she had a dehydrated baby and she wouldn’t take it in to be tested. I think you refuse to face reality.
http://www.livestrong.com/article/156002-what-are-the-dangers-of-soy-isoflavones/
http://healthyfamiliesforgod.com/2011/12/could-visalus-other-soy-products-actually-be-harming-your-health/
veganhealth.org/b12/plant
Prairie Rose, there is a very good chance that sarah does not have any deficiencies at all. she could very well be healthier than most omnivores. There have been many studies that claim that vegetarians live longer than ominvores. This would make sense because we are naturally herbivores. Perhaps some milk at night would be helpful to sleep though. The most underestimated health benefit of a vegetarian diet is a cleaner conscience. purchase factory farm dairy and have a guilty conscience for doing so. The cows are not fed a grass diet and don’t get to go outside or at least not near as much as cows that don’t live on factory farms. You can easily eat too many essential fats from plant sources. Just make sure to balance your omega 6 and 3 fatty acids because they compete for conversion. Make sure to regulate your blood sugar spikes and get enough vitamin B3, B6, C, zinc, and magnesium. Studies have shown that omnivores bodies don’t convert essential fats at as high of a rate as vegans do. The forms of essential fats of which are typically found in animal products don’t require conversion so they are much more potent. These studies indicate that the human body slows down the conversion rate of essential fats when it does not need to obtain anymore.