Italian Parents Should NOT Force Their Children Into Vegan Diets Or Else Jail Time Awaits

A new law is being passed by parliamentarian Elvira Savino stating that Italian parents who push on feeding their children vegan diet will face jail time of up to four years. In a report by the Huffington Post, Savino, from the conservative Forza Italia party, has passed a law that would hold parents legally at fault for making their children have "a diet devoid of elements essential for healthy and balanced growth," according to its text.

"I have nothing against vegans or veganism as long as it is a free choice by adults," she told Reuters on Wednesday, days after she presented the proposed law in the lower house Chamber of Deputies. "I just find it absurd that some parents are allowed to impose their will on children in an almost fanatical, religious way, often without proper scientific knowledge or medical consultation," she added.

According to NBC News, there have already been a number of pediatricians who have advised against children being fed a vegan diet, which they insist lack sufficient nutrition. Vegetarians do not include meat, fish, or poultry in their diet, vegans also upped the diet an inch higher by not eating animal products such as eggs and dairy foods.

The proposed law would see parents getting a maximum of a year in prison for the offense. But, it could go up to two and a half years if the offense caused a minor to "be permanently sick or hurt." If the minor died due to the basic offense, the parent may be in prison for up to six years. Any parent caught forcing the said diet on a child aged three or younger would also face jail time of at least two years, The Telegraph reported.

The Legislator has a 7-year-old son whom she said eat meat "but not too much." She also said that she penned the law after hearing shocking number of incidents in Italy. In June, a two-year-old girl from Genoa had to be placed in the resuscitation unit after she was observed to have neurological issues. Doctors said it was due to extremely low levels of vitamin B12.

The next month, a 14-month-old boy from Milan was hospitalized with severe calcium deficiency. The boy was found to weigh as much as a three-month-old child, which is too low for his age. Reports said that at least 8 percent of Italians are vegetarian or vegan according to Italian Corriere della Sera.