A 14-month baby that has been raised on a vegan diet was taken to a hospital in Milan, Italy due to severe malnutrition and very low calcium levels. The baby's parents lost custodial rights as a result.
The baby was taken to the hospital by his grandparents a week ago, where attending doctors were shocked to see that the little boy's weight was only slightly higher than that of a newborn, the Daily Telegraph reported. The baby was born in May 2015.
Blood tests revealed that the child's poor health was due to severe malnutrition and calcium levels that were barely enough for him to survive. The baby also suffered from a congenital heart condition and needed emergency surgery.
The baby was reportedly fed a vegan diet without being provided dietary supplements. This kind of diet contains only plants, including vegetables, grains, fruits, and nuts. It does not include meat and food products that come from animals, including milk and eggs.
While the baby boy is now recovering, his parents had lost custody to their child. According to the news site, the hospital had reported the case to authorities and prosecutors ordered that the baby be removed from his parents. As such, the child's welfare now relies on the decision of the children's court. The court will determine whether the grandparents will be given custody.
Italy has recently seen several cases of children being put on vegan diets, resulting in these children being hospitalized due to malnutrition.
The report recalled that within the last 18 months alone, four children have already been taken to the hospital for medical attention due to similar problems. A two-year-old girl was also taken into intensive care in Genoa last month due to vitamin deficiencies and a number of medical issues.
Meanwhile, last year in Tuscany, police had initiated a probe into the parents of a nearly one-year-old baby who suffered from malnutrition. And in Bergamo, court had ordered a vegetarian mother to prepare meat for her son after the father complained about the boy's macrobiotic diet.
The Washington Post related that similar cases have also played out in other countries. In 2007, an American vegan couple were found guilty of manslaughter, murder, and cruelty to children and given life sentences after their six-week-old baby, who was fed a diet of apple juice and soy milk, starved to death.
In 2011 in France, another vegan couple were found guilty of neglecting their 11-month-old child, who died from vitamin deficiencies.