Should a child be vegetarian?

Hi!

I'm writing from Pick Me Up magazine based in London where each week we attempt to answer a "Mum's Dilemma". This week a mum from West London talks about the tension between herself, a meat-eater, and her husband, a vegetarian, in regards to deciding whether their son should be raised on a vegetarian diet or not. We're looking for the response of an expert on this matter, perhaps drawing attention to the health benefits of a meat diet in growing children.

I would be grateful for any expert opinions that would be happy to have their comment published in the magazine.

Regards,
Megan

[CuteNsweeT]

I'm not an expert by any means, but there's two main concerns:
1) Protein is an essential building block for life. If the husband can ensure adequate levels of protein will be consumed by the child whilst on a vegetarian diet, then it should be okay; however, soy-based foods (like the majority of vegetarians rely on for protein) should not be overly used. They contain hormones (estrogen for one, not something most fathers would want their son to ingest large quantities of) and omega6, which leads to inflammation in the body.
2) Certain vitamins and minerals are hard to get enough of on a non-meat/fish diet. Sure, you can supplement with a multi-vitamin, but there's so many more benefits to getting the real thing instead of a powdered, processed, compacted, (usually sweetened to appeal to kids) tablet.

Perhaps they could agree to raise their son on an omnivorous diet, but only use organic meat/fish products, and not every single day, just until he's old enough to decide for himself.