Five months ago, the news surrounding the death of Crown Shakur at the tender age of six weeks sparked controversy over his parents’ vegan lifestyle. According to The Times of London, prosecutor Chuck Boring told the jury that Shakur was “just not fed enough,” and that these parents weren’t vegans, “but baby-killers”.

After being found guilty of malice murder, felony murder and first-degree cruelty to children following a sentence of life in prison by a court in Atlanta, the parents defended themselves by placing blame on their need to adhere to a strict vegan diet. Countless articles, opinion pieces, and commentary ensued regarding this negligent couple’s vegan excuse in lieu of this tragic, yet seemingly avoidable death.

Although it seemed popular, many agreed to the lunacy of the parents’ act. It, however, still drew attention to the disputation of vegan infants, children, and adults alike.

Listen to Xpress's Nadine Caouette takes a stab at being vegan for 10 days. To listen to a podcast of her experience, click the play button on the right.

According to Vegan.org, a vegan is someone who chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products including dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down (products made from goose feathers) and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.

Robin Means, 32, has been vegan for seven years. She has two children, ages nine and five, both of which are currently healthy vegans.

Means was already a vegetarian for years beforehand, due to her distaste for meat, so the vegan lifestyle became a natural progression.

“My son was already a two-year-old vegetarian when I became a vegan. He was a lot of the reason that I ate healthy. I had someone else’s health to worry about; so it only made sense that I shouldn’t be feeding him dairy pumped with hormones when his well being was my utmost concern,” she said.

After reading the book, “Pregnancy, Children, and the Vegan Diet,” by Dr. Michael Klaper, Means learned the importance and specificity of how much of each essential food element needed to be consumed by her and her children.

Since then, she has done massive amounts of dietary research, attended symposiums by doctors, authors, and nutritionists, in addition to having worked closely with an organic farmer.

“You have to basically be ready to become an expert in nutrition,” Means said. “Any doctor, midwife, or nurse will tell you that the most important thing you can do for your baby’s health is to nurse them for the first year. Babies die in malnourished situations everyday, but there is no press about it, until they’re vegan.”

SF State’s Student Health Center nutritionist Theresa Leu said that adults can absolutely be healthy on a vegan diet.

“If they choose to raise their children vegan, it takes a lot of planning. There are children that are healthy that are vegan, and those that are not,” Leu said. “It needs to be nutritionally balanced.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stated that vegans risk vitamin B12 deficiency (vitamin B12 is only naturally-occurring in animal cells and yeast or mold cells), which, can result in irreversible nerve deterioration.

A vitamin B-12 deficiency has been linked to neuropsychiatric disorders such as memory loss and dementia, according to International Health News.

In addition, according to award-wining online magazine, StarChefs (which has served the food service industry and food aficionados since 1995), the counter-argument is that although vegan diets are undoubtedly beneficial in certain respects, they are detrimental in others, causing minor to serious health problems that often go unnoticed. It also states that even the most informed health-conscious vegans run the risk of malnutrition due to a lack of several nutrients that are found in animal products, but exist in only a handful of vegan-friendly foods. Therefore, critics argue, that although it is possible to get all of the essential nutrients on a vegan diet, it is extremely challenging.

“It’s important that all vegan diets are thought out to make sure that one gets all the nutrients he or she needs,” said SF State student Andi Bruce.

“Many people think they can just cut out all animal products from their diet, but it’s important to add other foods to one’s diet so they don’t lose nutrients. This might also include taking a multi-vitamin to make up for a decreased intake of nutrients that are generally lower in vegan diets such as calcium and vitamin B12,” she said.

Bruce, 19, an Environmental Studies major, became vegan approximately one year ago due to research on the pollution and waste created by the livestock industry in America. She faced challenges as a vegan in her first year at SF State, due to a mandatory meal plan for first-year students on-campus students. She said that, although one vegan entree was offered, the food was rarely nutritionally adequate and quite often contained some type of meat or cheese.

“My advice would be to do your research,” Bruce said. “Know what being vegan will mean for you, and what kind of adjustments you’ll have to make to your diet to make sure that you stay healthy.”

According to the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians, appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

Benjamin Weiner, a San Francisco resident, was raised vegetarian, in what he said was basically a vegan household. He has never eaten meat since birth and switched to being vegan his junior year of high school.

“Growing up with an understanding on nutrition was huge in my house. My family follows a Macrobiotic lifestyle. Macrobiotics is basically a diet based on balance and whole grains,” he said.

“I am 33-years-old and I still skateboard and ride my bike daily. I have as much energy as the younger kids, so I have no complaints. I feel great and will always eat well,” he said.