Where's The Beef?

ANCHOR LEAD IN:
SOURCE: Vegetarian Resource Group
ABOUT ONE AND A HALF MILLION AMERICAN KIDS BETWEEN 8 AND 18 ARE NOW VEGETARIANS, AND THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION SAYS THAT NUMBER IS GROWING. BUT MANY PARENTS WORRY THAT KIDS WHO GIVE UP HOTDOGS MAY HAVE DIETS THAT GO TO THE DOGS… IN TODAY'S HEADS UP, WE'LL TELL YOU HOW TO KEEP THOSE LITTLE VEGANS AND VEGETARIANS MAKING SMART FOOD DECISIONS!

TRACK ONE Length: 03
CATHIE AND DEAN WINTERS LIKE A GOOD STEAK…

NAT SOT Length:01
Steak sizzling

SOT
NO KEY
"We're a meat eating family."

TRACK TWO Length:09
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…

SOT
KEY @ : 16 Dean Winters, Vegetarian since the age of 6
"I love animals a whole lot, and I really don't care for meat that much."

TRACK THREE Length:07
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…

SOT
KEY @ : 32 Harold Winters, Father of a vegetarian
"At first, I kind of fought it and tried to get him to eat meat. But he was pretty solid about his convictions."

TRACK FOUR Length:05
ACCORDING TO THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION, VEGETARIAN KIDS CAN BE JUST AS HEALTHY AS OTHER CHILDREN…

SOT
KEY @ : 43 Dawn Jackson Blatner, Registered Dietician and American Dietetic Association Spokesperson
"There is no need for concern. People can be very healthy eating a vegetarian lifestyle."

TRACK FIVE Length:06
THE KEY TO REMEMBER: IF YOU OR YOUR CHILD IS GOING TO BE A VEGETARIAN, THERE ARE HEALTHY WAYS TO GO ABOUT IT.

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"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."

TRACK SIX Length:08
HAVING A VEGETARIAN KID CAN BE AN ADJUSTMENT, BUT CATHIE SAYS WITH ALL THE PROTEIN SUBSTITUTES OUT THERE, IT'S NOT THAT HARD. AS FOR DEAN…

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"I really don't feel like I'm missing out on anything."

ANCHOR TAG:
THE A-D-A SAYS THE NUMBER OF KIDS WHO ARE CHOOSING VEGETARIANISM IS
GROWING…AND MANY CHILDREN MAY EXPERIMENT WITH A PARTIAL VEGETARIAN DIET. SO, IT'S 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!

SOURCE INFORMATION.
FOR CLIENT-STATION USE ONLY
The information provided below is for client-station use only. It is provided to help you obtain answers to any additional questions you may have and to help you localize a story. This private contact information, including phone numbers, addresses and email addresses, cannot be given to viewers nor posted on your Website. It is for internal station use only. Any exceptions to this will be clearly noted. Thank you.

Dawn Jackson Blatner
Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Wellness Institute
11th Floor
150 East Huron Street
Chicago
773-208-5777

With nearly 65,000 members, the American Dietetic Association is the nation's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. ADA members are the nation's food and nutrition experts, translating the science of nutrition into practical solutions for healthy living.

How many youth are vegetarian?

The Vegetarian Resource Group asked in a 2005 national poll

In this year's poll, 3 percent of 8- to 18-year-olds are vegetarian (that is, they say they never eat meat, poultry, or fish/seafood.) A whopping 11 percent of 13- to 15-year-old females said they never eat meat. We can see why so many companies are expanding into the meatless meals market. Even if these teens don't remain completely vegetarian throughout life, they and their families are likely to form a sizable audience for appealing vegetarian foods.

The 2005 survey results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points, so the figures given in this article should not be taken as exact and can't be truly compared with past surveys due to a difference in question wording and in the ages of those surveyed. However, this number generally
agrees with our previous adult and teen polls
(see www.vrg.org/nutshell/ faq.htm#poll).
Therefore, we feel pretty safe estimating that 2-3 percent of young people are vegetarian. Based on this year's 3 percent and the 2000 U.S. Census, we would estimate that approximately 1.4 million American 8- to 18-year-olds are vegetarian. We also can calculate that approximately 2.7 million don't eat meat, based on the 6 percent that reported this fact. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FDE/is_4_24/ai_n15788139