"Youre vegan? How arent you dead? Its a question that Elizabeth Tighes 12-year-old son is asked more often than shed like. But as a vegan raising her children to follow a plant-based lifestyle, its not one that particularly suprises her.

In the past decade, veganism has gone from a niche subculture to a lifestyle advocated by celebrities including Beyonce and Jay-Z. In the decade following 2006, there was a 350 per cent spike in people going vegan in the UK. And Tighe, a 32-year-old artist,mother of four from Herefordshirewho runs the veganwebsite ForkingFitis among them. She, like other devotees, sees this way of living as kinder to both animals and the environment. And scientific evidence backs up their claims that a plant-based diet is inarguably healthier for the average person.

Still, vegans arent a particularly liked bunch in some circles. Theyre seen as preachy, pushy and self-righteous. Although vegans might argue thats just not true, and if meat-eaters feel that way its the fault of our guilty consciences. And vegan parents in particular are scorned. Last year, an Italian politician called for a law to be introduced to prosecute vegan parents who impose their reckless and dangerous eating behaviour on their children. Parents found to be feeding their children, er, only plants, should be handed a six year prison sentence, according toItalian Politician Elvira Savino.

But some vegan parents admit that they too werent huge fans of vegans, until they actually went plast-based themselves and realised vegans aren't really fussed about what other people are eating.

Elizabeth Tighe says her children are free to ditch veganism if they choose to

To be honest I always thought vegans were loud and in your face, trying to shovel their views into you - quicker than a tofu sandwich, says Tighe. Yes some are, but on the whole I have met so many peaceful people who have changed to veganism for many different reasons.

Janet Kearney, a 36-year-old from Ireland who runs the Vegan Pregnancy and ParentingFacebook groupand lives in the New York City suburbs with her husband and theirchildren Oliver, four, and Amelia, nineteen months, like Savino believed that raising children to be vegan was cruel and wrong. That was until she watched Earthlings: a documentary known as the veganiser.

Elizabeth Tighe

When I was pregnant, a friend stopped eating all animal products, she tells The Independent. I thought she was insane, and was probably going to end up in a hospital from such a restrictive diet.

I would have been the first person to question a vegan persons ability to parent properly, but I think that has a lot to do with the misinformation out there. We don't hear about the thousands of parents who are raising vegan kids, only the ones who abuse their children or starve them. So it's obviously going to get people alarmed when that's the only connection they have to vegan kids.

Look at it this way, she goes on. We as parents want the absolute best for our children, we want them to be happy, and most of all, as healthy as they can be. The vegan parents that I know spend a great deal of time ensuring that their children are eating healthy, the same as parents who feed their children meat and eggs. We find killing animals to be cruel, and wrong. That's why we don't do it.

Janet Kearney's children Amelia and Oliver. Kearney says that she thought raising a child as vegan was cruel until she tried it herself

The biggest misconception is that vegan parents are hippies, who want everyone to live on dry toast and walnuts, says Kearney. "It couldn't be further from the truth. Most vegan parents are shouting at their kids to get off the back of the couch and stop hitting their siblings. They go to work, come home and make dinner."

But is a vegan diet safe for growing children? Earlier this month, Professor Mary Fewtrell, the chairman of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition warnedparents that getting avegan diet wrong can cause"irreversible cognitive damage and, in the extreme, death.""Our advice is that if parents pursue a vegan diet for their child, they must seek and strictly follow medical and dietary advice," she added.

However, dieticians agree that a vegan upbringing can be healthy if, like with any diet, the correct nutrients are eaten.

Compared to adults children require higher levels of nutrients and vitamins, including A, C, and D, which all youngsters should take in supplements until age five. And as milk and other dairy products are an important sourceof calcium,veganparents should be careful to give their children foods fortified with the mineral. Plant-based sources of riboflavin - found in fish and meat - and iodine - found in dairy and meat - should also be eaten, as well as vitamin B12 supplements.

A vegan diet needs careful consideration and planning to ensure a wide variety of nutrients and energy are consumed as some essential nutrients are primarily found in animal products, says Susan Short, a spokesperson for the British Dietetic Association (BDA), tellsThe Independent.

Clare Thornton-Wood, BDA spokesperson andspecialist paediatric dietitianat Healthcare On Demand,adds that breastmilkcan help parents nourish young children as there are no veganinfant formulas on the market, as Vitamin D is derived from sheeps wool and soya is not recommended for babies under six months.

Jenny Liddle, a 43-year-old living in Somerset where she runs a PR agencyhas been a vegan for 18 years and has been vegetarian since birth. Sheate a plate-based diet when she was pregnant. She said having a person growing inside of her made her think even more carefully about what she puts in her body. To her surprise, she found her calcium levels were higher than the average person when she was pregnant because she ate calcium-fortified plant milks and a wide range of foods.

However, Liddle says she accepts that were never going to be able to achieve a 100 per cent vegan lifestyle. That doesnt exist yet. Her childrens health, rather than any ideology, is always her priority.

Ian and Jenny Liddle, who have accepted that parents can't be vegan 100% of the time

If I hadnt been able to breastfeed I could have secured a vegan source of pumped donor breast-milk. And if this hadnt been possible then I could have used a formula. I feel that its very important to go ahead with this, even though current formulas contain vitamin D3 from sheep. If you think of formula as a food for a medical purpose, you can appreciate that its necessary for the survival of the baby due to breast-milk being unavailable."

"Sometimes theres no practical or possible alternative. But I feel taking vital medicine does not mean Im no longer vegan or my child is no longer vegan and The Vegan Society recognise that.

And Tighe, Liddle, and Kearney all stress that being vegan is something they dont force on their children, although they do actively educate them about why eating eating animal products might be bad for their health and the environment.

My children would never even think of the idea that our pet ducks, chickens or cat being are food. It would upset them," says Kearney. "They're their best friends, in much the same way people would never look at their pet dog, and think of a Sunday dinner."

"We take a very gentle approach to explaining veganism to our children. I don't want to them frightened or worse, thinking their friends or family are horrible people because they still eat animals. It's a fine line to walk."

"I just support my children and their choices," chimes Tighe. "I make sure they feel comfortable to change their minds about vegansim if they wish. They are all quite passionate about veganism now. I'm not sure what is more poignant than a four year old asking you,why would you love one animal but kill another?

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The vegan parents who are bringing up meat and dairy-free children - The Independent