LaMont Thomas - Infant's father
Jade Sanders - Infant's mother
This is Crown Shakur. He died of neglect, not a Vegan Diet. The story and Op-Ed contribution is misconstrued.
Nina Planck, the so called author, obviously has a profound bias against parents whom seek to raise their children with diets void of animal fats and proteins. What is most troubling is that this Op-Ed is ranked today at third most popular and probably has many parents feeling remorse and worried about their children's well being. I demand a correction of The New York Times to this outrage. It has nothing to do with Vegan Parents, but, profound neglect of a child.
The articles I have read said nothing of the parents socio-economic resources or their ability to pay for medical treatment. It said nothing about the kind of education they received before the birth from the physicians involved or the advocacy for infant care from the hospital. This was a Georgia couple and I'm sorry but the degree of advocacy in creating a healthy environment for this infant is in question as well.
The parents in the Seattle Times article don't appear any more nourished than the infant. This was their first child and professionals surrounding this couple should have picked up on clues regarding their life circumstances as well.
Vegan couple sentenced in baby's starvation death (click here)
ATLANTA — A vegan couple were sentenced Wednesday to life in prison for the death of their malnourished 6-week-old baby boy, who was fed a diet consisting largely of soy milk and apple juice.
Superior Court Judge L.A. McConnell imposed the mandatory sentences on Jade Sanders, 27, and Lamont Thomas, 31. Their son, Crown Shakur, weighed just 3 ½ pounds when he died of starvation on April 25, 2004.
Vegan Parents Get Prison In Infant's Death (click here)
Child Fed Mostly Soy Milk, Juice
...Prosecutors claimed the baby suffered a prolonged and painful death, not because of what he was fed, but because he was fed too little and that his nutritional needs were deliberately ignored by his parents. They prosecutors said the couple intentionally neglected their child and refused to take him to the doctor even as the baby's body wasted away....
The Vegetarian Society (click here) has recommendations to the parents of children (click here) regarding diets that are lifestyles as well as food. Honestly !
