[y.winter]

Originally Posted by Vicky.

Well yes, some vegetarians are healthy and know how to replace what they lose from meat, but a lot aren't. Theres a kid at my daughters school with vegan parents who have forced their beliefs onto their child and my god, she looks like a walking skeleton, grey tinge to her skin too...clearly not healthy. My daughter says she cries at school when others get stuff likle roast beef dinners, chicken burgers and stuff as she really wants it, poor kid.

(Apparently my daughter gave this kid her beef at one stage, as my daughter doesn't like beef anyway and the kid apparently loved it. Expecting hell on from the parents at some stage, but the teachers obviously did not see, or didn't tell them...so its only if the kid slips up and says something )

Well, the problem is with the parents, not with veganism. There are children to meat eaters that are badly nourished as well, yet no one blames it on their meat eating habit. I guess you wouldn't go and blame so quickly parents who let their kids go to mcdonalds every other day... The hospitals are full of heart-disease patients who eat meat, and yet it will still take only a single vegan to join them to throw that "UGH those unhealthy vegans!". It's populism at its best.
Also, that "forced their beliefs" is as valid as saying that meat eaters parents force their animal-abuse based eating habits on their "poor" naive children that don't know that they eat corpses of tortured animals (and I didn't even start talking about its health prospect).
Veganism is a wonderful and healthy diet for all ages (ask W.H.O) and when you're doing it right (like other diets, there's no exception, and a lot of non-vegans fail at it miserably) - there's nothing to question about it. No protein deficiencies, no iron deficiencies, well balanced level of cholesterol, great blood test results over and over again, non-compromising taste and quality of food - this is my personal experience for years and years (and others too).
People love to blindly bash veganism, but reality has more to offer other than superficial notions.
Who's afraid of veggies?