"If you want to be vegan, that's great, but let me…"Let your children make the decision when they are adults."
Many parents have likely faced accusations of imposing their ideas on their children by raising them vegan. Since this situation involves two parties—the child and the animals—there are two possible responses.
In the first scenario, anti-speciesist parents would defend their decision by claiming moral responsibility for the harm their children cause. If their child harms another child, the parents bear indirect responsibility for not having raised them properly. Similarly, if their child harms an animal, they are the ones who should have prevented it through respectful animal-minded education. But in this article, we will focus on how vegan education affects the child themselves and whether or not it is imposed upon them.
From birth, children are taught to use animals for their own benefit. On the one hand, the animals' interests are hidden from them, leading them to believe that animals are happy on farms, in circuses, or in zoos. And on the other hand, they are told that they must eat animals to "be strong" and "grow."
By hiding reality from children, they are being denied the freedom to choose; they are being forced into a way of life based on the idea that other animals are there to serve humans.
When a child is told the truth about animals – they are taught to empathize with them, it is explained to them that no animal wants to end up on a plate or in a circus and they are also told that it is not necessary to eat them or wear them – it is very rare that that child freely chooses a non-vegan lifestyle.
Therefore, those who believe that children shouldn't have their lifestyle and diets imposed upon them should tell their children—carefully, so as not to offend them—the truth about the plight of animals and the unnecessary nature of contributing to it. And if their child freely decides to take the step towards veganism—something very likely in these circumstances—they should respect and support their decision.