Vegan couple sentenced to life over baby's death

rkzenrage • May 11, 2007 6:24 pm
http://criminal.lawyers.com/news-headline/Jury:-Baby-murdered-by-vegan-parents--Guilty-verdict...-l:607132271.html

Believe it or not there are apologists out there saying that the sentence was too harsh. :headshake
xoxoxoBruce • May 11, 2007 6:58 pm
Where in hell were the grandparents? They made it for the trial, they surely could have made it for the child. Maybe it does take a village to raise a child.
Cloud • May 11, 2007 7:14 pm
so very sad. and stupid.
jinx • May 11, 2007 7:38 pm
xoxoxoBruce;342618 wrote:
Maybe it does take a village to raise a child.


Just the village idiot's child. Apple juice? Wtf?
monster • May 11, 2007 7:53 pm
Bizarre. Really the vegan thing has nothing to do with it. It's outright stupidity. Has the makings of a case for enforced sterilization in child neglect cases.
bluecuracao • May 11, 2007 8:00 pm
I wonder if the parents aren't eating the proper combinations of foods, and it's dimming their wits.
HungLikeJesus • May 11, 2007 8:01 pm
Vegans eat breast milk?
monster • May 11, 2007 8:14 pm
HLJ;342654 wrote:
Vegans eat breast milk?


Why wouldn't they? So do fruitarians. it's willingly given, it's fine.
HungLikeJesus • May 11, 2007 8:18 pm
monster;342659 wrote:
Why wouldn't they? So do fruitarians. it's willingly given, it's fine.


Cow's milk is also freely given. I've been to several dairy farms as part of my job, and the cows love to be milked. They are in pain if they don't get milked.

Same with cats.

The following is from the Vegan Society definition of veganism, "In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals"

Humans are animals, so I assumed that breast milk is included in this definition.
Cloud • May 11, 2007 9:07 pm
they lived across the street from the hospital. Infuckingcomprehenisble.
Ibby • May 11, 2007 10:02 pm
Fulton prosecutor Chuck Boring said the precedent-setting verdict


Poor guy.
xoxoxoBruce • May 11, 2007 10:05 pm
Poor guy...why? Do you know who he's boring, she might be hot.
monster • May 12, 2007 12:04 am
HLJ;342661 wrote:
Cow's milk is also freely given. I've been to several dairy farms as part of my job, and the cows love to be milked. They are in pain if they don't get milked.

Same with cats.

The following is from the Vegan Society definition of veganism, "In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals"

Humans are animals, so I assumed that breast milk is included in this definition.


Assume away. However you can't ask a cow's permission and cows are artificially induced to be in that state. I have many vegan friends and some fruitarian aquaintances and all their babies are breastfeed. Only an idiot would argue that this is not right. And yes, there are some idiots about. As seen here.
Cloud • May 12, 2007 12:09 am
Most vegans breastfeed--why didn't this mom?
bluecuracao • May 12, 2007 12:18 am
I think the point HLJ is trying to make is that human breast milk is not vegan by definition, not that it's wrong for vegans to breast-feed their babies...
Cloud • May 12, 2007 1:04 am
I admit to not being too familiar with veganism, but I can't imagine any Vegan objecting to breastfeeding one's own child. It's not exploitation or cruelty to any animal. The news stories do not explain exactly why she was not breastfeeding.
rkzenrage • May 12, 2007 1:22 am
From another site:

I am still looking for the original sources on the following, so they are not verified... I have requested the autopsy results and have a friend looking for the original police reports to see if they can be viewed:

Apparently, there was a neighbor who tried to get them to take the child in to be seen by a physician several times from right ofter the birth up to the death. She was told that they would not take the child to the physician because hospitals have germs.

The grandmother was quoted as saying something to the effect that the child was always happy and did not cry anymore than any other child, but another neighbor, during the canvas, indicated that the child was always crying for the first few weeks.

Apparently, when the police went to the house, the only think that was in the fridge was a container of juice and a box of soy milk (not formula) which said on it that it was not to be used as a baby formula... and there is nothing to indicated that the couple were illiterate or developmentally disabled, which I think would be brought up."

During that first police visit, there was NOTHING in the cupboards at all... absolutely no food other than the apple juice and the soy milk was found in the house. One conspiracy theorist on a board I was reading thought that they probably emptied the cupboards to hide the fact that they were not vegans at all. Not sure I buy that one, but it is a bit odd... every vegan I know has food in their cupboards.

Court documents apparently include an affidavite from hospital staff indicating that they could count the individual bones though the skin and that tests were done for the typical conditions which would account for the weight loss if the parents had fed the child properly.

As I said... I have not sourced these yet...
piercehawkeye45 • May 12, 2007 2:55 am
Ugh, this is why we have to make sure that only people with IQs above freezing can have children.

I just hate it when people have to force their views on other people, espeically their own children. Let their kids decide whether or not to be vegans by themselves and NEVER put their lives in danger because of some moral view. If you want to be a vegan, fine, I really don't care but NEVER put someone's life at risk because you are morally against something. Life comes first, morals come second.

There also could be foul play in there too. Whatever it was, I feel bad for the other two children.
DanaC • May 12, 2007 11:06 am
There also could be foul play in there too. Whatever it was, I feel bad for the other two children.


That was a different case, the one where the parents got involuntary manslaughter.
HungLikeJesus • May 12, 2007 11:15 am
bluecuracao;342703 wrote:
I think the point HLJ is trying to make is that human breast milk is not vegan by definition, not that it's wrong for vegans to breast-feed their babies...


bluecuracao - thanks. The truth is that I don't usually have a point. I'm just trying to stir up trouble.

My grandmother was a vegetarian (but not vegan) from about 1930. My mother is also a vegetarian, and my sister is sometimes. I have several friends that are vegetarian - all women. I know very few men who are vegetarian (except for my grandfather, but he really didn't have a choice as he wasn't allowed to leave the house) - but I don't know why there is this dietary gender bias.

I'm almost a complete carnivore, but only because I have a bad reaction to most vegetables (they make me go "yuk" and make a face for which no smiley has ever been invented).
Ibby • May 12, 2007 11:24 am
HLJ;342800 wrote:
I'm almost a complete carnivore, but only because I have a bad reaction to most vegetables (they make me go "yuk" and make a face for which no smiley has ever been invented).


They make me do the same, but I'm still a vegetarian....
HungLikeJesus • May 12, 2007 11:35 am
Ibram;342802 wrote:
They make me do the same, but I'm still a vegetarian....


Now you're skewing the statistics.
Hime • May 12, 2007 11:35 am
I think the gender bias is because a lot of guys see "caring about animals" as unmanly. It seems to me, not being a guy, that there's a lot of pressure on men to act in "masculine" ways. Like how they have the Nutrisystem for women ads that are all "look, you can eat chocolate cake and look cute in a bikini!" and the Nutrisystem for men ads that are like "look, you can eat lots of MEAT and still play football and have sex!"

As for the milk thing, yes, cows need to be milked, but they don't need to be raised in modern industrial dairy farms that do not allow them to have room to graze or to eat their normal diets. There is a big difference between that and drinking breast milk, IMO.
HungLikeJesus • May 12, 2007 11:46 am
Hime;342804 wrote:
I think the gender bias is because a lot of guys see "caring about animals" as unmanly. It seems to me, not being a guy, that there's a lot of pressure on men to act in "masculine" ways. Like how they have the Nutrisystem for women ads that are all "look, you can eat chocolate cake and look cute in a bikini!" and the Nutrisystem for men ads that are like "look, you can eat lots of MEAT and still play football and have sex!"

As for the milk thing, yes, cows need to be milked, but they don't need to be raised in modern industrial dairy farms that do not allow them to have room to graze or to eat their normal diets. There is a big difference between that and drinking breast milk, IMO.


Hime - that's why I was so disappointed to find out that the meat tree was a hoax. If we could get meat from trees, would vegetarians object to eating it?

I think that, to completely get away from factory farms (for all products, not just meat and dairy), the population of the world would have to be reduced by about 50%.

This thread is really making me hungry (it's nearly 10 am in Colorado).
Stormieweather • May 12, 2007 12:13 pm
These people are idiots.

I was raised a vegetarian (what is the difference between that and a vegan?) and never had any animal byproducts whatsoever until I was out on my own at 18. No milk, eggs, cheese, beef, pork, chicken or fish crossed my lips and I was perfectly healthy. My mother still does not eat anything from animals and is actually more than a bit overweight.

There are soy formulas on the market, all natural baby foods, and plenty of things to give an infant/toddler that do not involve animal products. For people that don't eat meat, there are vegetable cheeses, soy 'meats' and milks, beans, nut products and tofu, as well as the normal pasta, fruits, and veggies. There is absolutely NO reason for anyone to ever go hungry, particularly an infant.

Ignorant s.o.b's.
Cloud • May 12, 2007 2:04 pm
It's important to note that the jury did not think these people were ignorant idiots who just didn't realize what they were doing.

The jury believed the couple did this on purpose, and maliciously starved their child to death, and that's a whole different kettle of tofu.
Pie • May 12, 2007 4:40 pm
I'm with the jury. Let's see how long Mom and Dad survive on apple juice alone.
xoxoxoBruce • May 12, 2007 8:49 pm
Wonder what their diet will be for the rest of their lives?
monster • May 12, 2007 11:04 pm
bluecuracao;342703 wrote:
I think the point HLJ is trying to make is that human breast milk is not vegan by definition, not that it's wrong for vegans to breast-feed their babies...


By his interpretation of the definition he found. Which is misleading/poorly worded/open to incorrect interpretation.
monster • May 12, 2007 11:18 pm
Stormieweather;342809 wrote:
These people are idiots.

I was raised a vegetarian (what is the difference between that and a vegan?) and never had any animal byproducts whatsoever until I was out on my own at 18. No milk, eggs, cheese, beef, pork, chicken or fish crossed my lips and I was perfectly healthy. My mother still does not eat anything from animals and is actually more than a bit overweight.



Vegetarians will not eat or use products that involve the death of or pain/cruelty infliced on the animal. Milk, Eggs and cheese are OK if they are harvested within these guidelines. Vegans will not eat/use anything from an animal, believing that animals should not suffer to provide food for humans, and that all farming methods induce suffering of some form because the animal is not living 'naturally". Humans are not considered animals in this respect. It is not against vegan or vegitarian principles to recieve organ donations, blood donations or drink (human) breast milk. Reason being, the humans involved are able to consent and no suffering is involved.

Fruitarians believe that plants are also able to suffer, so one should only eat that which is "willingly given" for consumption i.e. fruit. Fruit is designed to be eaten to ensure propagation, so it is OK. So is breastmilk, which is designed to be drunk by the baby to ensure growth. The giver is not damaged by either.
HungLikeJesus • May 13, 2007 10:14 am
Not to start a new debate, but... designed by whom?
DanaC • May 13, 2007 10:16 am
I think that's a question best answered by the Pastafarians.
Undertoad • May 13, 2007 10:28 am
I the spirit of Douglas Adams I offer Toadatarianism.

Under my philosophy, farm animals are fulfilling their highest desires by dying to be food. With their limited mental capability, all they can understand is that their entire meaning in life has been to be fatted for the knife. Their kind has been specifically raised for this purpose for so long - centuries, sometimes - that no other meaning matters. In fact, most such beings could not exist in the wild any longer, having been bred to be et. There's no such thing as a wild cow, and the wild turkey doesn't resemble its farm cousin at all.

For them not to fulfill their meaning in life is a horrible end... incomprehensible, really. Every time we eat meat we help the farm animals to fulfill their very destiny. It is an act of giving.
HungLikeJesus • May 13, 2007 10:53 am
The vegetarians and fruitarians are messing up the food chain, especially the fruitarians. They're going to upset the entire ecological balance of the planet.

My motto is "Eat more meat. Give animals a shot at a short, happy life." (On the billboard, I'd have sad-eyed cows, pigs and chickens.)

Every animal that you don't eat means one less animal that gets to be born, to have the opportunity to live a happy barnyard life.
Pie • May 13, 2007 2:27 pm
monster;342877 wrote:
Vegetarians will not eat or use products that involve the death of or pain/cruelty infliced on the animal. Milk, Eggs and cheese are OK if they are harvested within these guidelines.

There are as many interpretations of the word "vegetarian" as there are vegetarians! The one I was raised with was: Don't eat anything that is an animal or can become an animal.

Thus, milk and honey are okay to eat, but eggs are not.
Ibby • May 13, 2007 6:39 pm
If you ask me, if a fetus ain't alive, an unfertilized egg sure as hell ain't. Fair game.

I dont eat fish; it's just as alive as a cow is. My sister, who's also vegetarian, does eat fish.
Pie • May 13, 2007 8:09 pm
Oh, a fetus is alive; it just isn't a person. But hey, let's not get into that one again. :bonk::bolt:
piercehawkeye45 • May 13, 2007 10:59 pm
*slams rum bottle on counter*

Oh......damn.
rkzenrage • May 14, 2007 8:40 am
monster;342877 wrote:
Vegetarians will not eat or use products that involve the death of or pain/cruelty infliced on the animal. Milk, Eggs and cheese are OK if they are harvested within these guidelines. Vegans will not eat/use anything from an animal, believing that animals should not suffer to provide food for humans, and that all farming methods induce suffering of some form because the animal is not living 'naturally". Humans are not considered animals in this respect. It is not against vegan or vegitarian principles to recieve organ donations, blood donations or drink (human) breast milk. Reason being, the humans involved are able to consent and no suffering is involved.

Fruitarians believe that plants are also able to suffer, so one should only eat that which is "willingly given" for consumption i.e. fruit. Fruit is designed to be eaten to ensure propagation, so it is OK. So is breastmilk, which is designed to be drunk by the baby to ensure growth. The giver is not damaged by either.

I was vegan for years, it had nothing to do with empathy for animals. That is a myth.
Fish is meat.
Happy Monkey • May 14, 2007 10:47 am
It's not a myth. People don't have myths about why you were vegan.

If it wasn't for the animals, what was your reason?
Cloud • May 14, 2007 10:47 am
many people do it for health reasons, I think