Written by Suzy Sorensen, RD, LD, CDE

School-aged children are gradually gaining independence and exploring their place in the world around them. It’s never too early to talk about why we choose a vegan lifestyle: compassion for others, keeping our bodies healthy, and taking care of the planet are family values for many! 

It’s a great time to dig into veg-friendly books and movies and maybe even visit a local farm sanctuary to engage young children! There are lots of great offerings available. An online search brings back hundreds of ideas.

A balanced vegan meal plan can meet children’s nutrition needs while offering health benefits. Research shows that vegan children eat more fruits, vegetables, and fiber than their peers and eat less fat and cholesterol. They tend to have healthy body weights and may have reduced risk for chronic disease later in life. 

All children need enough calories to support growth, and even more with extra physical activity! Children might need to add in snacks between meals or around extra activity.

To add a nutritious calorie boost at snack time, try:

• “Trail mix” with nuts or seeds and dried fruit
• Crackers or an apple with nut butter
• Guacamole on corn chips or on a small tortilla
• Veggies dipped in hummus

Iron and calcium are especially important for growth, so iron-rich foods like beans, iron-fortified cereals, and leafy greens should be included in the diet.

Calcium sources like fortified plant milks and juices, almonds and almond butter, calcium-set tofu, and leafy greens (broccoli, kale, bok choy) should also be present.

School-aged children can be included in meal planning and preparation, grocery shopping, and packing lunch. At mealtime, follow the advice of feeding expert Ellen Satter and use her Division of Responsibility method: parents are responsible at meals for what, when, and where of feeding while children are responsible for how much and whether or not. This can alleviated the pressure of cooking multiple meals or items to please everyone. 

Children can be included in meal planning and preparation, grocery shopping, and packing lunch. Older kids might want to pack their own lunch. Encourage following a guideline such as My Vegan Plate to assure protein, produce, and starch at each meal. 

It can be easy to match the school lunch menu with vegan options like tacos and burritos, spaghetti and veggie balls, veggie dogs and burgers, or grilled “cheeze.” For beautiful lunchbox options, check out the Vegan Lunchbox book by Jennifer McCann! An online search also offers up lots of lunch bag-friendly vegan ideas. A small ice pack and a thermos allow for increased variety and using bento boxes or other containers with small compartments can make lunch even more appealing and help to encourage balanced eating! 

Please note: This information, while accurate, does not provide an all-inclusive feeding plan and is not intended to substitute personal medical advice. It is intended to offer guidance only. We recommend working with a registered dietitian to help meet any specific questions you may have.

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Suzy Sorensen is a Twin Cities-based Registered Dietitian and Certified Diabetes Educator who is passionate about plant-based eating! She has a Certificate of Training in Vegetarian Nutrition from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and opened Move2Veg Nutrition Counseling in 2009 to support those interested in plant-based eating. For more information, visit move2veg.com.

Written by Abbey Feola

We already know that going vegan helps protect farmed animals. In addition to the tremendous human threats faced by farmed animals, we also know that entire species of wild animals are struggling to survive. The threats to these animals range from climate change to water pollution. However, many of these disparate threats share a common cause: domestic animal agriculture. In industrialized countries, plant-based foods use fewer resources, land, greenhouse gases, and water, and emit fewer harmful chemicals (AJCN).

The theme of the 49^th Earth Day is “Protect Our Species” (EARTHDAY). One of the many ways we can support our environment, and animals both farmed and wild, is by decreasing the number of animal products we consume.

GHG Emissions and Climate Change

One of the biggest threats to many animals is climate change, a process in which certain gases create a “blanket” that traps heat around Earth. This change in heat then disrupts everything from weather patterns to ocean currents and directly threatens over 7,000 species (IUCN). The sources of climate change are diverse, and animal agriculture is one major contributor.

Plant-based foods consistently have lower carbon footprints than animal-based foods (AJCN). In the U.K., eating a vegan diet will produce half as much greenhouse gas as eating an omnivorous diet (Springer). Methane is a gas that traps 21 (FAO p82) – 36 (EPA) times as much heat as carbon dioxide. The cattle industry produces 37% of U.S. emissions (CDC). Nitrous oxide is a gas that traps 265 – 298 (GHG p82) times more heat than carbon dioxide and animal agriculture produces 65% of U.S. emissions (CDC xxi).

When we mitigate global warming through decreasing demand, production, and consumption of animal products, we decrease the drastic changes in species’ environments and help them survive.

Habitat Destruction

The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world (MONGABAY) and known for its incredible biodiversity. Many species in the Amazon — billions of individual animals — are losing many (INSECT) of its species (TREE), due to both deforestation and climate change.

Deforestation has been happening in the Amazon for decades (DEFOREST); in 2018, about 978,000 soccer fields’ worth of land was cleared (BRAZIL). Cattle ranching is a major driver of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon (WORLDBANK), and most cleared Amazon area in Latin America is eventually maintained as pasture (FAO).

A Changing World

Over the past decade, the UN has repeatedly called for the world to decrease our meat consumption in order to combat environmental destruction (GUN). To some extent, we’re listening, with a rising number of plant-based products in our stores (NIELSEN)!

Let’s use this Earth Day to keep listening, and eat to protect animals both farmed and wild.

CAA welcomes Julie Knopp to our board of directors. (Perhaps you’ve already met her through Wholesome Minnesota, Twin Cities VegFest, or another space!) Read on to learn more about her and how she got involved with CAA and working for the animals.

Tell us a little bit about yourself!

I am a passionate social justice advocate living in Minneapolis. I currently work as an elementary school teacher in Richfield. I’m part of a Spanish-English dual immersion program that works to help our diverse student body become fully bilingual and biliterate. Before that, I founded a nonprofit called City Stay, which invites Minnesota high school students of all colors and creeds to live with self-identified Minnesota immigrant families. The goal of this two-way experiential learning program is to break down barriers between neighbors of different cultures and increase equity in Minnesota. All of my work has focused on equity, education, and cultural inclusion.

When did your journey to being vegan begin and where has it led you?

I became a vegetarian about 17 years ago after doing a project on the meat industry as a freshman in high school. I was inspired by the idea that I could take a stance against violence and animal suffering three times a day, every day, simply by cutting meat out of my diet.

Then I became vegan about four years ago. I was living with a roommate who had a dog named Misty who I really connected with. Misty was incredibly perceptive, athletic, and smart. It would only take a couple of hours to teach her complex tricks, like retrieving drinks from the fridge or cleaning up her toys. My relationship with her forced me to consider what we might not know about the intellectual and emotional lives of animals and about their capacity to suffer. I knew that so many animals like Misty were living lives of complete misery on factory farms and that going vegan was one way to take a stance against that violence.

As a starting point, I read classic books in the movement, like Animal Liberation and The Sexual Politics of Meat. Later I stumbled upon a CAA “Cookies and Conversation” event online related to intersectionality. I decided to attend because I was interested in learning more about how my interest in social justice might connect with my increased interest in animal advocacy. I was amazed as I learned more about how relevant animal advocacy was to so many other issues I cared about: gender and racial equity, climate change, etc.

Since then, I have been more active in the movement, taking on a range of roles at CAA including Leafleting Coordinator, Wholesome Minnesota Program Coordinator, Twin Cities VegFest Committee Member, and now a board member. I also continue to be motivated by my relationships with companion animals and have volunteered with SecondHand Hounds for several years and have worked for Animal Humane Society.

When you’re not working with CAA, what are you doing? 

I enjoy spending time with family and furry friends. I have a 14-year-old cat named Waffle Cone who I’m hopelessly in love with, and I foster other animals when my schedule allows. I also love to cook plant-based foods and travel. My most recent trips were to Japan and Iceland. 

As a new board member, what is your vision for the organization?

I am excited to be a part of CAA’s continued growth. My vision is for a bigger and more diverse community of animal advocates in the Twin Cities. As we work towards increased funding and staffing, I believe we will be able to reach more people with our inclusive and welcoming approach to animal advocacy. Another part of my vision for CAA’s future pertains to institutional change. I’ve been a part of launching CAA’s Wholesome Minnesota program, which supports institutions like schools and hospitals in providing more plant-based dining options. I am excited about this new chapter for CAA, which involves a strategic pairing of both consumer-based change and institutional change efforts in working towards a kinder world for animals.

Interested in joining CAA’s board of directors? Our board meetings are open to prospective members. If you are interested in attending a board meeting, email [email protected] to find out when the next board meeting will take place.