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Vegans face abuse charges
East Valley Tribune ^ | 12 May, 2005 | Irene Hsiao

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


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Front Page News; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events; US: Arizona
KEYWORDS: abuse; animalrights; childabuse; children; diet; econuts; health; hippies; homeschooling; junkscience; kooks; leftists; liberalism; malnurishment; mentaldisorder; petafreaks; pseudoscience; starvation; vegans
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To: HungarianGypsy

21 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:04 AM PDT by RockinRight (Conservatism is common sense, liberalism is just senseless.)
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To: cyborg

3 years old and weighs 12 pounds!!! Is that possible? Babies are born weighing that much.


22 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:35 AM PDT by TX Bluebonnet
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To: cyborg
I would never feed a steak to a young child.

Why not?

23 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:40 AM PDT by Jimmyclyde (Dying ain't much of a living boy...)
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To: HungarianGypsy
I'd like to see the "Supersize Me" movie dude who at McD's for 30 days straight live with this pair of kooks. Two days later his butt would be a salad shooter.

We get a side of beef every 16-18 months (5 of us at the dinner table), approx. 220lbs of packaged beef. Kids aren't fat nor are they too skinny. It's good to be a carnivore:


24 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:48 AM PDT by Hat-Trick (Do you trust a government that cannot trust you with guns?)
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To: cyborg
I did post this just for discussion, which is why I did not post my opinion first. I wondered about the seizure thing too. I read about a similar case in another state. The state ended up having foster parents feed those children meat and milk. Their bodies were not used to it and they kept ending up in emergency rooms. I do not know what became of that.
Actually I know of a couple children who are not vegan and have been well taken care of by their foster parents from birth (they are adopted now)and are still smaller than my 8 month old. I wonder if sometimes it's just the way the children are.
In case anyone wonders I am definitely an omnivore. Funny, I was teaching the words: carnivore and omnivore to my two year old this morning.
25 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:49 AM PDT by HungarianGypsy (Walk Softly, For a Dream is Born)
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To: Paul Atreides
Medical diet practitioners (real ones, not wacky libs who have an agenda) will tell you that growing children need fat, proteins, carbohydrates, and suger---all those "bad" things. Their bodies are in a stage of generation and transformation. This is not to say they should eat Fruit Gushers and Tasty Cakes all day--lest they become obese.

But they cannot function on asparagus shakes and soybean smoothies. To many liberals, these diets are their "religion."

26 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:56 AM PDT by SkyPilot
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To: gimme1ibertee

Too young.. maybe when they're older. Why give them an early start on heart disease? Fresh, free range chicken and fish is better.


27 posted on 05/12/2005 9:45:58 AM PDT by cyborg (Serving fresh, hot Anti-opus since 18 April 2005)
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To: HungarianGypsy

I switched to a vegetarian diet 3 months ago for health reasons (yes, it has worked and is working). I have to say that it is not for everyone...and you do need to be mature enough to make a conscious decision about it. The parents in this case are thoroughly insane.

Regards, Ivan


28 posted on 05/12/2005 9:46:22 AM PDT by MadIvan (One blog to bring them all...and in the Darkness bind them: http://www.theringwraith.com/)
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To: sticker
"Wonder who they voted for in November?"

Or what their stance on abortion is.
29 posted on 05/12/2005 9:46:24 AM PDT by LIConFem (Mein Luftkissenboot ist mit Aalen voll.)
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To: cyborg
Did she have a seizure because of another problem? The article doesn't state this. There are many children who are vegetarian and vegan who have no problems. That won't sell newspapers though.

Don't know about the seizures but the physical measurements of the children are very disturbing. What kind of human being would allow their own children to suffer because of a lifestyle choice?

30 posted on 05/12/2005 9:46:32 AM PDT by conservonator (Lord, bless Your servant Benedict XVI)
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To: cyborg

Well sure, but an occasional steak won't hurt.


31 posted on 05/12/2005 9:47:27 AM PDT by RockinRight (Conservatism is common sense, liberalism is just senseless.)
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To: RockinRight

Great! Now you're making me hungry.


32 posted on 05/12/2005 9:47:28 AM PDT by HungarianGypsy (Walk Softly, For a Dream is Born)
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To: TX Bluebonnet
12 pounds!!! . . . Babies are born weighing that much.

Oooh oooh! Petronski was born 31 days late, at 12 lbs 8 oz.

33 posted on 05/12/2005 9:47:37 AM PDT by Petronski (Pope Benedict XVI: A German Shepherd on the Throne of Peter)
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To: HungarianGypsy

I used to be in PETA but I left. Many vegans treat the diet as religion which is dangerous. It becomes fanatical objects of worship. I found a nice christian,vegetarian group that isn't so fanatical. Having said that, I deal with vegans every day and only had one customer have problems with diet.


34 posted on 05/12/2005 9:47:42 AM PDT by cyborg (Serving fresh, hot Anti-opus since 18 April 2005)
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To: cyborg
"Did she have a seizure because of another problem?"

Look at the weights of those children. No normal 3 year old weighs 12 pounds. I have a cat that weighs 12 pounds.

I have to believe that these parents never took their kids to a real doctor for well baby checks. Where were the neighbors?
35 posted on 05/12/2005 9:47:50 AM PDT by Gingersnap
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To: Petronski

LOL


36 posted on 05/12/2005 9:48:08 AM PDT by cyborg (Serving fresh, hot Anti-opus since 18 April 2005)
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To: cyborg

As Ivan said above, it has to be a conscious decision. A three year old kid doesn't get to make that choice.


37 posted on 05/12/2005 9:48:48 AM PDT by RockinRight (Conservatism is common sense, liberalism is just senseless.)
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To: RockinRight

Sure now and then. Everyone has a choice and sometimes the fanatics forget that. There is a psychological term for people obsessed with the perfect diet.


38 posted on 05/12/2005 9:48:54 AM PDT by cyborg (Serving fresh, hot Anti-opus since 18 April 2005)
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To: cyborg

And I (finally) have the picture to prove it!


39 posted on 05/12/2005 9:49:13 AM PDT by Petronski (Pope Benedict XVI: A German Shepherd on the Throne of Peter)
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To: Gingersnap

They sound VERY isolated. Mental illness is possible.


40 posted on 05/12/2005 9:49:33 AM PDT by cyborg (Serving fresh, hot Anti-opus since 18 April 2005)
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