imageVegetables are an essential part of a balanced diet, and it is a fairly common practice that parents literally force children to eat vegan, and sometimes this leads to the point of children eating only vegetables.

However, this practice could send parents to jail in Italy, as under a newly proposed law, parents would be criminalize for forcing a vegan lifestyle on their kids without their consent.

Such parents, the draft bill claims, are imposing a diet "devoid of essential elements for [children's] healthy and balanced growth," reported BBC. The legislation is still in the drafting phase, and was proposed by Elvira Savino of the centre-right Forza Italia party.

“For some years the belief has been spreading in Italy that a vegetarian diet, even in the rigid form of a vegan diet, results in significant health benefits,” Savino said. “There can be no objection if the person making this choice is an informed adult. A problem arises when minors are involved.”

The latest legislations come after a number of high-profile Italian cases where malnourished children were taken into care.

The legislation would mean vegan diets i.e. non consumption of meat, eggs, daily, or animal products of any kind, would be banned for children, reported The Guardian. As per the proposed legislation parents would face a one-year prison sentence if their child is under the age of 3, and four to six years if death is the result.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2016

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