Two vegans who fed their 11-month-old daughter only mother's milk went on trial in northern France on Tuesday charged with neglect after their baby died suffering from vitamin deficiency.
Sergine and Joel Le Moaligou, whose vegan diet forbids consuming any animal product including eggs and cow's milk, called the emergency services in March 2008 after becoming worried about their baby Louise's listlessness.
When the ambulance arrived at their home in Saint-Maulvis, a small village 150 kilometres (90 miles) north of Paris, the baby was already dead.
The ambulance workers called the police because the child was pale and thin, weighing 5.7 kilos (12.5 pounds) compared to an average eight kilos for her age.
The baby had only been fed on the milk of her mother, who was aged 37 at the time.
An autopsy showed that Louise was suffering from a vitamin A and B12 deficiency which experts say increases a child's sensitivity to infection and can be due to an unbalanced diet.
"The problem of vitamin B12 deficiency could be linked to the mother's diet," said Anne-Laure Sandretto, deputy prosecutor in the city of Amiens where the trial is taking place.
The couple has been charged with "neglect or food deprivation followed by death" and face up to 30 years in prison if convicted.
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The Naive Vegetarian
unnecessary...vegans live quite proper lengths of time as long as they consume the right combos of foods...this should not have happened. Imagine the grief of these parents, and guilt they are already bearing, and now throw them in jail for their dietetic choice? The world is going KABOOM and this is not an answer to anything. It does, however, hold the portent of infringing on personal choices people make. A good nutrition class would do far more to repatriate little Louise's life than 30 years in prison! Sorry, folks, but this is plain stupid when we are facing what the world faces now...sheesh.