Nutritional Risks of Vegan Diets to Women and Children: Are They Preventable? JOHANNA DWYER Tufts University Schools of Medicine and Nutrition, and Frances Stern Nutrition Center, New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, USA FRANKLIN M. LOEW Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and Tufts Biotechnology Corporation Boston and North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA Abstract The potential health risks of vegan diets specifically for women and children are discussed. Women and children are at higher risk of malnutrition from consumption of unsupplemented vegan diets than are adult males. Those who are very young, pregnant, lactating, elderly, or who suffer from poverty, disease or other environmentally induced dis- advantages are at special risk. The size of these risks is difficult to quan- tify from existing studies. Fortunately the risk of dietary deficiency dis- ease can be avoided and the potential health benefits of vegan diets can be realized when diets for these groups are planned in line with the Recommended Dietary Allowances so that nutrient intakes reach or exceed recommended levels, and access to preventive and curative health services is assured. Keywords: veganism, vegetarian diet, nutritional aspects, deficien- cies, alternative diets, values. Introduction This article addresses the potential health risks of vegan diets specifically for women and children. The evidence suggests that the health benefits of vegan diets can be preserved, and the risks avoided, by careful dietary planning. In theory, both vegan and omnivorous dietary patterns can be healthy, but in practice both may be suboptimal. Definitions Vegan Vegetarians are those who eat no animal foods at all. Near-vegans are those who eat so little that the effects on nutrient intake from food alone are similar. Vegans are a small minority of the 3% of Americans who defined themselves as Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 1994, 7(1) 87-109