Veggie attytood, kid-style: A 13-year-old is part of the vegetarian vanguard

By BETH D'ADDONO
Philadelphia Daily News

For the Daily News

KELSEY O'CALLAGHAN wants to be a chef when she grows up - but not just any chef. Instead of having her sights set on attending the prestigious Culinary Institute of America, this 13-year-old from Bensalem is intent on making her mark at the Natural Gourmet School in Manhattan, an all-vegetarian academy.

Miffed that "there isn't even a vegetarian chef on the Food Network," O'Callaghan figured she'd get a jump on her career, and The Veggie Chef (www.theveggiechef.net) was born.

"I sort of made my own show," said the eighth-grader at Calvary Christian Academy. What started as a blog and Web site for healthy veggie eaters and cooks became a cooking "show" on YouTube, recipe demos starring, produced and edited by O'Callaghan, a two-day process she does in her room at home.

Typically, she'll take a recipe she finds online or in a cookbook and tweak it to substitute plant-based ingredients for animal-based.

"Like, if it says you need one large egg, you can mix two tablespoons of arrowroot and one tablespoon of water to substitute. And I use Earth Balance nondairy spread for butter," she said, adding, "My family lets me experiment on them."

The Veggie Chef hasn't always eschewed meat.

"I tried hamburger when I was 7 and completely hated it. But I did eat fish and chicken up until about nine months ago."

After viewing some disturbing PETA videos, O'Callaghan found herself thinking, really thinking, about where meat comes from. While not completely vegan, O'Callaghan has fully embraced vegetarianism. The difference between the two is that vegetarians don't eat meat, fish or fowl, while a vegan is a vegetarian who does not use other animal products, such as dairy and eggs.

"I just didn't feel comfortable eating food that was killed for meat," said the Veggie Chef, whose stance and subsequent spots online earned her PETA's "Compassionate Kid Award."

Not everybody is so thrilled with her choices.

"Especially when I'm with my friends going out to places or parties, everybody eats burgers and hot dogs," O'Callaghan said, admitting that it's also hard for her to stand by when others - including her stepdad, eat meat. "It's just so much more healthy not to."

While there isn't a glut of research and stats on vegetarian kids and their diet habits, a poll by independent market research firm Harris Interactive showed that 3 percent of Americans ages 8 to 18 are vegetarians. Within that group, about 1 percent are vegan, noted Megan Robinson, a certified diabetes educator and registered dietitian at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

"I'll often have a parent come to me and say, 'My teenage daughter is a vegetarian or vegan. How can I be sure she's getting enough nutrition?' "

While there are some risks for deficiencies, especially with iron, calcium, B12 and omega-3 fatty acids, these can be overcome with supplements. "Studies show that kids who are strict vegans grow up just fine when it comes to height and weight," said Robinson.

"Compared to a decade ago, there are endless food and snack options for these kids. But the parents have to be nutritionally aware."

Being a vegetarian doesn't automatically mean eating healthy, she added. "There is plenty of junk food that could qualify as vegetarian. What a parent doesn't want to do is say, 'My kid's a vegan,' and just let them go. They have to be involved."


Parents take note



Lori Klein Brennan is about as involved as a parent can get with her daughter Madelyn's diet. Brennan, a vegetarian for ethical reasons for more than 21 years, decided to raise 20-month-old Maddie as a vegetarian, despite Brennan's husband, Ed, being a big meat eater.

"We talked about it - and we're still having that discussion," she said recently.