Going vegan can be a big endeavour for adults, so how does it work for children and even toddlers? One British mother spoke about her decision to go plant-based with her young child.
UK mum Jessica Barclay decided to go vegan with her three-year-old daughter two years ago.
To this day the mum and daughter duo still enjoy a plant-based diet.
Jessica revealed to Newsweek that in late 2019, early 2020 she decided to ditch all animal products six days a week in a bid to improve her energy levels.
However, she initially allowed herself one day per week where she could enjoy animal products.
Jessica made the complete switch to veganism after Covid, and her daughter “sort of followed suit”.
This lifestyle choice means that the mother and daughter duo do not eat any meat or consume animal products such as cow’s milk or eggs.
But Jessica explained that her decision to go vegan was more strategic than ethical.
The founder of A Happy Lifestyle Club said that she went vegan to improve her energy levels and later on it became about “health”.
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She said: “Then sustainability and animal welfare as a reason actually came last.
“I’d always felt my food was very dissociated from an animal, but I wouldn’t have said I was a massive animal lover then, but I am now.”
As for why Jessica’s daughter got involved, the mum revealed that it was mainly a case of her “copying mummy”.
However, she was also inquisitive and curious about food. The toddler also started watching David Attenborough and then programmes like Game Changers and Seaspiracy.
As described on its official website, Game Changers is described as a “revolutionary new film about meat, protein and strength”.
Netflix calls Seaspiracy a “groundbreaking documentary” exploring the world’s fishing industry.
Jessica’s daughter became more interested in asking questions about where food comes from.
She had always been an “animal lover” and budding environmentalist, having studied topics on recycling at school.
The mum explained that she had always been honest with her daughter about where food comes from.
The mum and daughter’s lifestyle choice has not caused them any problems so far – although Jessica’s daughter “wasn’t very pleased” with their first attempt at vegan tuna.
At school, she’s far from being the only non meat-eater, with some other children living a vegan lifestyle and many others being vegetarian.
But the choice to be vegan was not inflicted on her, with Jessica explaining that it’s a “very personal choice and really depends on your motivation and relationship with your child”.
“Forcing anything belief based on a child rarely ends well, so I give her facts and let her form her own beliefs.”
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