Vegan parents and children: zero parental compromise

Abstract

Marcus William Hunt argues that when co-parents disagree over whether to raise their child (or children) as a vegan, they should reach a compromise as a gift given by one parent to the other out of respect for his or her authority. Josh Millburn contends that Hunt's proposal of parental compromise over veganism is unacceptable on the ground that it overlooks respect for animal rights, which bars compromising. However, he contemplates the possibility of parental compromise over 'unusual eating,' of animal-based foods obtained without the violation of animal rights. I argue for zero parental compromise, rejecting a rights-oriented approach, and propose a policy that an ethical vegan parent and a non-vegan co-parent should follow to determine how to raise their children. KEYWORD Veganism; Children; Parental Compromise; Religion; RightsConsider this scenario: dad is an ethical vegan and as such, he wishes to raise his child as a vegan. However, mom is not a vegan and, though she understands the importance of ethical veganism and respects dad's ethical commitment to it, she wishes to raise their child as a meat eater, or at least she would like her child's diet to incorporate some animal-based food. What should mom and dad do? According to Hunt (2019), there are four possible courses of action. One, the parents command nothing. This is unacceptable because parents cannot expect the issue to just go away on its own. Two, only one parent makes a command. But this is not a desirable option either because in such a case a parent's command would, obviously, undermine the authority of the co-parent. Three, each parent makes his and her preferred command, which would make a child left to decide which of the two to follow. Consequently, Hunt observes, the best policy mom and dad should follow, which avoids undermining either one's parental authority, is to reach a compromise.Compromise is not the claim that one parent has to capitulate entirely; rather, parents should find a middle ground that both can accept. Although Hunt's proposals in this area are lacking, compromising may mean a position between veganism and non-veganism or it may involve a compromise in which one is the designated parent that determines everything about diet,

Corrupting the Youth: Should Parents Feed their Children Meat?

“…2 The only argument I have found in the literature that approximates my own is made by Carlo Alvaro, in relation to the recent debate as to whether there should be compromise between a vegan and a non-vegan parent as to raising their children as vegan. (on this debate, see Alvaro 2020, Hunt 2019b, Milburn 2020. He argues that given that the consumption of animal products is a morally controversial issue, parents ought not "to make their children bear such moral responsibilities.…”