Vegetarian Kids

A super-positive KYW report in Philadelphia on vegetarian kids includes the statistic that approximately 1.5 million kids between 8 and 18 are vegetarian... That ups the nation's vegetarian percentage significantly, seeing as how how must polls on vegetarians only include adults, about 2.3 percent of whom never eat any kind of meat. It's hard to pull an exact number on this, but estimates put the figure at about 5 million adults. So adding 1.5 million kids to that base gives us about 6.5 million full-time vegetarians in the U.S. over the age 8, to say nothing of those that eat vegetarian part of the time, or flexitarians.

At any rate, getting back to the newscast:

Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl reports there are ways to make sure those growing kids are eating a well balanced diet.

The Winters like a good steak, but their 12-year old son Dean is not interested. When mom and dad eat steak, he has a protein substitute.

Dean has been a vegetarian since he was in first grade.

"I love animals a whole lot, and I really don't care for meat that much,” he said.

The Winters, like many parents of vegetarian kids, worried at first that their son wouldn't get enough nutrients without that piece of meat on his plate.

"At first, I kind of fought it and tried to get him to eat meat. But he was pretty solid about his convictions,” said Dean’s dad, Harold Winters.

According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarian kids can be just as healthy as other children.

"There is no need for concern. People can be very healthy eating a vegetarian lifestyle,” said Dawn Jackson Blatner a registered dietician and American Dietetic Association spokesperson.

The key to remember: if you or your child is going to be a vegetarian, there are healthy ways to go about it.

"There are three major steps to do this vegetarian thing right. The first step is to replace the meats with plant proteins, so that would be eating things like beans nuts, seeds. Step 2 is eat lots more fruits and vegetables and then step 3 is replacing your grains with more whole grains,” Blatner said.

Having a vegetarian kid can be an adjustment, but with all the protein substitutes out there, it's not that hard for Dean.

“I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything,” he said.

The A.D.A. said the number of kids who are choosing vegetarianism is growing and many children may experiment with a partial vegetarian diet.

It is a good idea to consider how you'll add healthy meat-free meals to your child's diet, whether or not he or she is a full-time vegetarian.

(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)