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Compassion in action.

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When we embrace a plant-powered way of living, we encourage the full expression of children’s innate compassion, allowing it to grow and flourish in all areas of their lives.

From a young age, children have a natural inclination to see animals as fellow beings worthy of care, fascination and respect, and an aversion to harming them. By making a plant-based dietary shift, we enable children to embody these existing values, for a kinder future.

An expansive moral circle.

 

We all want to encourage values such as coexistence, inclusivity and kindness in our children. By taking animals off our plates, we embody an expansive ethics of care for others – especially those who are the most vulnerable. 

 

Fascinating recent research in social psychology has shown clear links between inclusive and egalitarian attitudes towards other groups of people and a greater sense of fairness and empathy for all sentient beings and our living world.


With every plant-based meal, we spare animals from being born into a system of commodification that inevitably involves harming them. At the same time, we vastly reduce our ecological footprint, and free up more food for people in the world who do not have enough.

Supporting their natural empathy.

 

Although most parents want to encourage their children’s curiosity and teach them about where food comes from, many avoid the truth when it comes to animal products, fearing that their children will refuse to eat them if they understand their origins, or that doing so may condone animal cruelty. 

 

Being a plant-based household creates an opportunity for honest, age-appropriate conversations about the food system as a whole, touching on a wide range of both timeless and topical questions. 

 

Whether we are thinking about environmental pressures and how to feed a growing human population, how social norms evolve, or questions about ‘who matters’, these are rich educational topics to help children explore who they want to be, and what kind of world they want to create.

 

Kindness and children’s flourishing.

 

Imparting caring values in childhood establishes strong empathic roots, supporting an ethical outlook and prosocial skills that our children will take forward with them as they go through life. And it’s not just the recipients of kindness who benefit: being compassionate is a gift that gives back. From trust and friendship to a sense of belonging and meaning, people who are kind reap ongoing rewards for their own wellbeing.

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A resource hub for compassionate conversations. 

 

While aligning our dietary and other choices with our values of compassion and kinship offers many rewards for us and our families, it’s not always easy to know how to discuss our food choices in ways that are appropriate and empowering for children at each stage of their development. Further challenges can arise in navigating these topics with those who may not (yet) have not embarked on a similar journey. 

 

Growing Plant-Based aims to provide a hub for expert-informed resources to help parents and caregivers discuss ethical and food system topics with children, from toddlers to teens. If you would like to support this work, please consider making a donation today.

Take a moment to tell us what resources would be most helpful for you.

What the experts say.

Raising your child on a plant-based diet is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give, fostering healthy food preferences that will carry them into adulthood while supporting a sustainable and ethical world. The children of today are the future, and it all begins with what we eat. 

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Growing Plant-Based acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land on which we work and live and we pay our respects to their Elders, past and present.

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