Posted on 05/12/2005 9:34:27 AM PDT by HungarianGypsy
A Scottsdale couple have been charged with child abuse after their three children, who police said were put on a type of vegan diet, were found malnourished and severely underweight.
The couple’s 3-year-old daughter weighed 12 pounds when she was taken to Phoenix Children’s Hospital last month after apparently having a seizure, said Scottsdale detective Sam Bailey. All three children remained hospitalized Wednesday, Bailey said.
The parents, Blair Parker, 34, and Kimu Parker, 35, were arrested April 28, and on Wednesday were each being held on $90,000 bail in a Maricopa County jail.
The Parkers were charged by a direct complaint from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, according to court records. Bill FitzGerald, spokesman for the office, said the case is expected to go before a grand jury for possible indictment.
Police said that after Blair Parker took his youngest girl to the hospital, a social worker contacted police.
At the couple’s home in the 300 block of North Miller Road, police found the two other emaciated children. The 9-year-old boy weighed 29 pounds and stood at 3 feet 4 inches tall, while the 11-year-old girl was 3 feet 9 inches tall and weighed 36.5 pounds, a police report said.
Police said the Parkers’ house was immaculate, "organized" and "free of clutter." The refrigerator was stocked with fresh vegetables, roots and mixed grains.
Both older children, who were home-schooled, were well-spoken and welleducated for their ages, though officers thought the children looked young for their ages, the report said.
Dr. Janice Piatt, a pediatrician at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, later told police, "I have never seen such stunting before except maybe in Africa. It was beyond severe malnutrition."
Yet Bailey said the couple "weren’t consciously starving their kids."
He noted that the children’s mother also was thin — she weighed 115 pounds and was 5 foot 6 inches tall.
"She was extremely skinny but did not appear malnourished," the report said.
Blair Parker, who is 6 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 200 pounds, told detectives his family was on vegan diets and don’t consume animal or dairy products.
Kimu Parker told police the family mainly eats rice, beans and vegetables. She said the two older children were small for their ages because they didn’t have "animal steroids and other products that the average person consumes."
None of the children have been vaccinated, and the family believes in holistic medicine and were in contact with a doctor in Wisconsin who would explain to them how to treat their children after diagnosing them, the report said.
The couple, who have read extensively on health issues, said the girls’ bodies don’t absorb protein and that the holistic doctor diagnosed the problem, according to the report. They supplemented the 3-year-old’s diet with a product that was supposed to help absorb the protein.
In general, vegan diets should be safe for children as long as they get the proper nutrients, two Valley nutrition specialists said.
"With regard to whether it’s appropriate for a child — there are healthy children who eat vegan all the time," said Terry Hughes of Gentle Strength Cooperative in Tempe.
Karen S. Moses, a registered dietitian at Arizona State University, said it’s possible to raise children on vegan diets successfully.
"People can be very conscientious about how they feed their children and can do a vegan diet without compromising the child’s health. It takes a lot of work. You really have to be conscientious about protein and calcium. You have to be really thinking about nutrients in a way that other people may not."
Contact Irene Hsiao by email, or phone (480)-970-2324
Thanks for posting that. I didn't want to get up and walk into the kitchen to find out. LOL!
Unfortunately, raw dairy is illegal to transport across state lines for sale anyway. If I lived down South or out in east of Long Island, I'd have one dairy cow and one dairy goat and chickens.
That's about the point where I pretty much lost it. Her parents are a**holes.
The $90,000 fine would have bought a lot of McDonald's Double Cheeseburgers.
That's pretty gross *LOL*
Animal fat does not cause heart disease. The research in the 1940s that implicated saturated fats, was done on artificially hydrogenated vegetable oils, which researchers mistakenly believed were equivalent to animal fats. Now we know better.
When this nation ate mostly butter and lard for its fat sources, heart disease, cancer, and infertility were very rare. Replace those with vegetable oils -- hydrogenated or not -- and look what has happened to us. Worst of all, this result was PREDICTED back in the 1920s or 1930s when the changeover was just getting under way. Nobody listened.
Hey, if it works for you, more power to you.
I could never give up meat...
Agreed.
The human body is designed for a diet that consists overwhelmingly of plant material.
It'll look a lot better sauteed...
I just would not do it for my children. I don't think heavy meat on a regular basis is good for kids anyway, young kids. You are right about the hydrogenated oils. Look at the number they did on coconut oil.
"Even if you object to animal products, feed the kid some damn French fries or something & she'll put on weight."
They can't. Just about every place that serves french fries will fry them in a meat-based oil. That's generally what makes them taste good, too.
Overwhelmingly? I dunno about that. Majority, sure. I guess it depends on your definition of overwhelmingly.
With fresh peppers and tomatoes from my garden!
Venison, red meat the way God intended it to be!
I think Burger King uses vegetable oil.
That's true according to the Bible.
I know that the FDA does not allow the shipment of raw MILK across state lines ANYWHERE, but if you drive just a few miles up the Hudson or towards the Catskills there are plenty of farmers who would be more than willing to sell you raw milk.
A vegetarian diet means you do not eat meat. A vegan diet means that you do not eat animal products of any kind, including eggs, fish, milk, dairy etc. I have some vegan friends and they won't let their daughter eat skittles because they contain gelatin that is made from some kind of animal product. Their daughter is 12 and very small, but smart and healthy. They say they have been told by their doctor that vegan children can be exceptionally small and will grow and mature late. But, they will eventually reach a normal size. For what its worth they are not liberal at all but are eating this way for health reasons.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.