My understanding of the meaning of the term vegan is from my nutrition
courses in nursing school, lo these many years ago.  Veganism is a huge
challenge where I live because vegetables are so expensive and/or limited in
availability most of the year, not to mention ones grown in environmentally
friendly ways.

I learned that a vegan diet contains only things that are vegetable in
origin, that is, not things that are animal.  By that definition, no
breastfed baby would be called vegan until after weaning.  I have known
vegans who would not eat yeast-risen bread because yeast is a one-celled
critter.  I have also known vegans who ate more white sugar than I do.  I
was not aware that there was any political aspect to the definition of vegan
and I stand corrected on that.

I hope everyone understood that in no way did I mean to imply in my last
post on this topic that veganism is in some way intrinsically negative.  On
the contrary, IMO it is as close to the ideal diet as you can get for any
child after breastmilk is no longer its sole source of nutrients.  When the
mainstay of your diet is as high on the food chain as you can get, it is
probably wise to complement it with foods very close to the bottom of the
chain.  A vegan diet would reduce exposure to environmental toxins for
mother, and for the breastfed child.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway, where I am wondering what 'green chicken' and 'green
fish' are - to me they sound like something that got pushed to the back of
the fridge a few weeks ago and you stumble across it while searching for the
source of that quirky smell wafting toward you every time you open the door!

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