Viva! responds to Tom Parker Bowles’ accusations on ITV
Letter to ITV regarding Tom Parker Bowles’ comments
Tom Parker Bowles said that raising children on a vegan diet is child abuse on ITV’s This Morning show. It went unchallenged, but as it’s a serious accusation, we felt it would be appropriate to react to it. Below is our letter to ITV.
To whomever it may concern:
Dear Sir/Madam,
I’m writing to you on behalf of Viva! and Viva! Health. We were very disappointed by the comment Tom Parker Bowles made on ITV’s This Morning about raising children on a vegan diet. He said: ‘All these ridiculous hippies who bang on and tell us that we shouldn’t be eating this, we should be eating vegan raw diets…for children, that’s child abuse, I think.’
While it may be ‘just’ his opinion, it remained unchallenged and given that it is a serious accusation, we feel it is necessary to rectify that.
Plant based diets are the healthiest possible and, when appropriately planned, are perfectly suitable for infants and children. Many health and nutrition professionals recognise this and publicly recommend such diets.
It is the position of the American Dietetic Association1 that: ‘appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including total vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes.’
And as a joint report of the World health Organisation and Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations2 states: ‘Households should select predominantly plant-based diets rich in a variety of vegetables and fruits, pulses or legumes, and minimally processed starchy staple foods. The evidence that such diets will prevent or delay a significant proportion of non-communicable chronic diseases is consistent.’
While there is an overwhelming number of studies showing that plant based diets are healthy and should be recommended, uneducated comments such as that made by Tom Parker Bowles are very harmful as they send a very flawed message to the public. In fact, diets based on animal products and high in saturated fats are the reason we are facing a public health crisis with numbers of people suffering from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc. reaching epidemic levels. Promoting such diets is simply wrong and accusing people living a healthy lifestyle of child abuse is inexcusable.
Although we cannot change Tom Parker Bowles’ opinion, we think it would be appropriate that you issue a statement clarifying that labelling vegan parents guilty of child abuse is unacceptable and untruthful. Should you wish, we can offer an expert quote or recommend renowned nutrition authorities to contact.
We also offer an easy-to-use nutrition guide for parents planning to or raising their children on a vegan diet, you can access it here: http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/new-mother-baby-guide.pdf.
I’m looking forward to hearing back from you.
Yours faithfully,
Veronika Powell
Health Campaigner1 Craig, W., Mangels, A.R., American Dietetic Association, 2009. Position of the American Dietetic Association: vegetarian diets. Journal of the American Dietetic Association. 109 (7) 1266-1282
2 Report of a joint FAO/WHO expert consultation Bangkok, Thailand, 2001. Human Vitamin and Mineral Requirements. Food and Nutrition Division FAO Rome
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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