This question, oddly, seems to have been bubbling among vegan Facebook discussion groups and pages lately.  And I am not sure why.

From what I have seen, most people surprisingly say “no,” with their primary argument being that more people = more consumption and more pollution.  There is more to it, but that is the basic gist.

A few years ago, I too would have probably answered with something similar.  I was pretty anti-child, and vegan (not anti-child, really, just not into it for me).

But a few years ago I was blessed with a little boy and he has changed my life and my view on things.

First and foremost, little Wilder has already influenced the vegan world.  His mom and I decided early on that she would have a vegan pregnancy.  She was pretty much vegetarian at the time, but we wanted our little guy to be vegan literally from day 1.  So he was a great motivation for his mom to move into the vegan lifestyle.

Second, he is a vegan himself.  He has never had dairy.  Or meat. Or any animal products.  Ever.  That is pretty awesome if you ask me.  He even revolts at the taste of the Beyond Burger, I assume because the flavor is so meat-like (and therefore foreign).  So we added a vegan to the ranks.

Third, the child I raise is going to grow up an activist by default.   He is going to grow up asking questions and defending his veganism.  This will undoubtedly make him a supporter of the environment and defender of animals.  How is this a bad thing?

Also, as a vegan himself I wonder how many people he will invite to veganism throughout his life.  I assume quite a few.

So the more I think of it, the more I realize the question is not about ‘should we be having kids,’ but more of ‘should we raise kids to be vegan, appreciate the environment, and become activists?’  I think the latter is obviously true.

Let’s all raise good kids that want to be the future state of change in this World, and not guilt-shame the vegan families that want to be parents.