Today atherosclerotic plaque is beginning in children and is especially pronounced in African American girls, probably due to poor diet and lack of exercise. Raising children as vegetarians delays the onset of this process.

  Vegetarian children tend to be thinner than meat eaters, a healthy trend in a country where overweight and inactivity have become the No. 1 public-health problem, leading to Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and stroke in middle age.

  Some argue that vegetarian children will be calorie-deprived. But malnutrition only occurs where access to food is also limited. There's little evidence that growth is retarded in vegetarian children in developed countries.

  Similarly, some argue that vegetarian children born to vegan mothers, who eat no animal products at all, will get insufficient vitamin B12.

  But B12 deficiency in vegans is no higher than in the general population, suggesting there may be sources of B12 other than meat. It may be seeping into soils from organic fertilizer that's often used on organic farms, the source of produce for many vegans.

  In any case, B12 is easy to provide as a supplement.

  Iron deficiency from a vegetarian diet? Our definition of anemia is probably far too stringent. There's mounting evidence that levels of iron considered normal in the U.S. may contribute to the development of atherosclerosis.

  Starting children on vegetarian diets early will increase the chance that they'll continue to eat little meat when they are adults, which means they're likely to be healthier than meat-eating counterparts.

  Broccoli's a fine source of calcium, but you're not going to get a kid to eat a pound a day, which would be necessary due to low bioavailability. It's also hard to get sufficient iron, zinc, and vitamins A, D, and B12 from vegetables.

  Women who shun red meat are likely to be deficient in zinc. One would assume the same to be true for children. Zinc is necessary for growth, immune function, and normal sexual development, and is a cofactor in a variety of enzymes.

  A number of studies, mostly in animals, suggest that children whose diets exclude elements such as cholesterol and certain fats will grow up unable to induce sufficient enzymes to handle those foods. Breast milk, the optimal food for infants and toddlers, is high in fats and cholesterol. Where's the logic in weaning a child of 1 or 2 from breast milk to a low-fat vegetarian diet?

  At least two published reports document failure to thrive in children who have been weaned onto a "low-risk" diet. These involve several dozen children of upper-middle-class suburbanites, who stopped growing at age 2 or 3.

  Recently, it was discovered that conjugated linoleic acid, found in meat and dairy, seems to reduce body fat, lower cholesterol, and inhibit cancer in a variety of animals. I don't advocate eating red meat daily, and servings should shrink to the size of a deck of cards. But just because we consume too much doesn't mean we should run to the other extreme.

  Vegetarians are likely to be poorly informed about nutrition. They'd benefit from a referral to a registered dietitian.