A Raw Deal?

Hi Gels! I just found this website while organizing my favorites file. Apparently I'd added this site almost a year ago to my favorites list with the intention to check it out later and never followed through (wouldn't be the first time). Anyway, hello. My name is Chrystabel and I have 3 lovely girls ages 2,4, and 5 and a lovely husband (although he probably wouldn't want me to use the adjective 'lovely'). We live in Germany.

Health problems in my past and present have inspired me to steer my family to a more whole foods, organic approach to living and eating. The other day while surfing through health websites I decided to check out the raw food movement. I've been vegan before but I never, ever thought about going "raw." I was impressed with the variety and beauty of some of the recipes, not to mention the before and after photos. Any of you raw food people?

But this isn't actually what my post is about. Because I've been in Europe I've completely missed a lot of court cases and scandals. When I visited one of these raw food sites they were discussing the Court TV "Vegan Baby Death" case of Florida vs. the Andressohns:

http://www.courttv.com/trials/andressohn/122205_sentencing_ctv.html

Apparently their baby died of a birth defect (a missing thymus gland) but the state claims she died because the mother was a raw food vegan and stopped breastfeeding (giving the baby and "equivalent" formula of almond milk and wheat grass). The couple was charged with manslaughter but were acquitted on that charge (but not on four counts of neglect charges). The Andressohn's other five children seem to have thrived, and they were in all ways attentive parents, but CPS still took the kids away and they now live with an Aunt. Lamoy Andressohn worked for Wild Oats and wanted to homeschool her children. The defense claimed that if the Andressohns had eaten cooked food and lived like the neighbors this never would have happened.

The state says that if/when the Andressohns resume custody of their children they must give them cooked food and send them to public school.

I always wonder what to think after I read about a case like this. When does it take a village, and when should we tell the village to take a hike? Land of the free, or free until you step over an accepted social norm? Are the parents culpable for a birth defect beyond their control? But couldn't Lamoy have contacted La Leche League when she began to have difficulty with breast feeding?

Truly, there can be no greater nightmare for most parents than losing the custody of their children or a child's death. And what of the living children? How will they recover from this? Lets just say since I read this story I haven't had an easy time drifting off to sleep at night. You see, if we move back to the US someday I might want to homeschool...