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Author Topic: If you are vegan, don't move to Utah
Wendybird
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Check this out...

http://www.lifesave.org/PressRelease.htm

quote:
SALT LAKE CITY, UT. On June 9, 2003, the State Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) took a nursing, 12-month old boy named Matthew Thaxton from his parents and placed him in foster care. Astonishingly, this was done for no other reason than the fact Matthew is being raised "vegan", as are his two older sisters, which means the Thaxton family does not eat meat or dairy products.

Can it be that a diet rich in organic foods, fruits and vegetables, and void of any animal proteins or acids has now actually become grounds for “Child Neglect” by Social Services? Are we to infer from this case that a Happy Meal constitutes a well-balanced diet, or that the medical profession and social services are now in cahoots with the meat and dairy industry? How many other vegetarian and vegan families could be at risk of losing their children; not because the parents are drug addicts, or display violent behavior, but because of what they don’t have in the refrigerator? Because they don’t feed their kids meat?[1.]

The grounds for the Thaxton case were, according to social worker Laura Rowland, “parents do not seem to understand link [sic] between malnourishment due to vegan diet and sudden medical crisis.”[2.] According to a report of Child Neglect by Bountiful City police Detective Julie Feigleson, Matthew’s parents “could not supplement his nutritional needs while using a vegan diet.”[3.] And Medical Examiner Dr. Maureen Frikke even declared with nonobjective, unprofessional prejudice, “I hate vegetarians” to Matthew’s father.[4.]

Click on the links at the bottom to read an updated report. Apparently the kids were made sick because of carbon monoxide re-entering their home through some duct work. Yet the state still refuses to admit their mistake.
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Javert Hugo
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It's a press release, right?

It's not a news story - press releases are the story an organization wants the news to tell, with all their own spin.

Are there any stories about it in a paper somewhere? I'm sure there's more to it.
quote:
By January of 2003 (a year with a late cold winter weather onset), however, Matthew developed some health problems that seemed to baffle his doctors. First he was diagnosed with “pallor and low blood counts,”[7.] then presumed "Leukemia", then a rare “Intrinsic Disease,”[8.] then by June he was given a hefty dose of Insulin and then fed and medicated through a tube in his neck because some doctor "thought" he might be Diabetic. In January and June 2003, Matthew underwent extensive blood tests, two blood transfusions, a bone marrow biopsy, a B12 shot in the leg (Carolee was was later concerned and asked about the safety of a doctor’s first order to inject the shot directly into Matthew’s liver), and a Barium test, among other examinations and assessments. It wasn’t until the doctors learned Matthew was vegan that they erroneously presumed his condition was due to “malnutrition.”
Even just from that site, the kid was sick for months, and the doctors identified his diet as a possible cause.

I'm not saying there's no cause for controversey, but it's hardly as cut and dried "no other reason than the parents were vegan." More like "kid is sick for months and parents refuse to address the cause as identified by doctors."

[ December 22, 2003, 08:58 PM: Message edited by: Javert Hugo ]

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ana kata
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Does this mean that the state will take Strider away from Leonide if she doesn't get him to eat more often?
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Javert Hugo
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quote:
Two months later, on August 13, 2003, the Thaxton family received proposed terms of a dispositional "Dependency" order (which, even if agreed to, did not ever mention that it would reunite them with their little son) that sited the following: “Parents to develop a written nutritional plan for all of their children, to include written menu planning and schedules with caloric and nutritional tracking, and … all necessary supplementation, be it multivitamin, B12 injections, or animal products.”
Aww... they misspelled cited.

The part in italics sounds like a very good idea. You can have a very healthy diet eating vegan, but it takes planning and you have to be sure to cover bases. Kids need different food from adults - they want to make sure the kid's nutritional needs are covered.

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T_Smith
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We Utahns just don't like those vegan people, what with their celery and carrots and salads and compost piles. They be the Devils people, I tell ya.

::grills up a nice juicy steak::

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mackillian
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[Roll Eyes]

If they're taking away kids from vegans, they should start taking away morbidly obese kids from their parents as well. It's a dietary issue, too, and could ALSO be qualified as neglect.

[needed to add a qualifier]

[ December 22, 2003, 10:13 PM: Message edited by: mackillian ]

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Tullaan
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I believe this is big news in Utah because previously a small child died of malnutrition due to his/her parents unusual eating habits.

I don't remember all the details, but I think it had to do with excessive amounts of water? Maybe someone can do the research (I'm at work).

Tullaan

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Da_Goat
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I can see the problem with being vegans if they weren't varied enough. ie. Were they still getting things like beans? Were they getting mushrooms (from portibelli to the little ones - I forgot their names)? Were they getting avacados? A vegan diet can be healthy, but they can't live on just lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and the rest of the normal salad ingredients.
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Ryuko
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That was a situation in which they punished a child by making her drink water, and she died because of it.
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Zotto!
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Sigh.

You just KNOW you're having issues with your subconscious when you read the thread title as "If you are a virgin, don't move to Utah".

[Monkeys]

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Bob the Lawyer
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Here I am!
Captain Vegetable.
With my turnips,
And my celery

...

(goes out with his lettuce, tomatoe and avacado to plot the demise of T and small children the world over)

Anyway. Completely, utterly, absolutely stupid. "Duh... vegans aren't healthy." Please. Look, you can be unhealthy as a vegan just like you can be unhealthy with any diet. Could they please explain what it is that he was missing? Maybe then the parents could *do* something about it?

Anyway, I can't type anymore because my poor, brittle vegan bones are aching.

Gah! This is starting to rankle me. *walks away from thread*

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scottneb
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<puts together a tray of sliced gourmet meat as a peace offering to Bob>

<naively walks it over to Bob's house>

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Noemon
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Hmmm...Captain Vegetable...that rings a bell. Electric Company, maybe? Something from my childhood, anyway.
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Occasional
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quote:
Could they please explain what it is that he was missing?
Hmmm . . . maybe it could be, Meat?
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Noemon
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Oh, okay, a little googling has revealed that the Capt. Vegetable song comes from Sesame Street. That makes sense.
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