Vegan couple nearly starves child

04-30-2002, 05:04 PM

NEW YORK — A vegan couple in New York City were busted for starving their baby daughter — by denying her breast milk and formula, feeding her only nuts, fruits and vegetables, and allegedly failing to get her medical help for severe malnutrition.

Joseph and Silva Swinton, both 31, were arrested Friday and charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child for failing to properly feed and care for their baby, Ice.

The Swintons, who are being held in lieu of $20,000 bail, face up to seven years in prison if convicted.

Sixteen-month-old Ice Swinton weighed only 10 pounds, looked like a 2- or 3-month-old and was half the normal weight of a child her age when authorities discovered her close to death last November.

EMS workers rushed Ice to from her Queens home to Long Island Jewish Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with developmental problems, a distended abdomen, fractured bones, a vitamin deficiency called rickets and a lung disorder — all caused by malnutrition, authorities said.

The Swintons, who say they approach veganism as a religion, fed the child a diet of "ground nuts, fresh-squeezed fruit juices, herbal tea, beans, cod liver oil and flax seed oil," a complaint said.

Even when doctors told the couple their baby was on the brink of death in November, both parents insisted "there was nothing wrong" and were resistant to treatment, the complaint said.

After a four-month hospital stay, the New York City Administration for Children's Services placed the baby in a foster home.

Several months on a healthy diet have helped the 20-month-old to achieve the functions of a 10- to 12-month-old baby, but the child is still struggling, authorities said.

Warren Silverman, a lawyer representing the mother, questioned why there was such a long delay to file charges.

"If Long Island Jewish Hospital at that time thought that something was amiss, why wasn't something done right away?" he asked.

The Swintons have been allowed supervised visits with their daughter — but ACS has asked that a judge order them stopped after the father said he thought the child was getting "chubby," sources said.

Neighbor Toyin Savage said she was "shocked."

Another neighbor said she saw the baby recently.

"I asked how old she was and they said, 'Almost a year.' She looked very small. They said she was a vegetarian — I didn't think about it at the time."
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stupid motherfuckers..

04-30-2002, 05:06 PM

Stupid non-meat eaters. Won't they ever learn?

------------------
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mledrew/kid.jpg

This is just a modern rock song,
This is just a sorry lament,
We're four boys in our corduroys,
We're not terrific but we're competent.

04-30-2002, 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark LeDrew:
Stupid non-meat eaters. Won't they ever learn?

it's not about being vegetarian/vegan.
obviously there's something wrong with them if they weren't allowing the kid to have breast milk.

04-30-2002, 05:09 PM

Quote:

The father thought the child was getting "chubby"

Good god...what a dumbass.

04-30-2002, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by distance:
it's not about being vegetarian/vegan.
obviously there's something wrong with them if they weren't allowing the kid to have breast milk.

exactly...every vegan i know doesn't believe in drinking the milk of animals who are fed hormones. but a mother is supposed to give her child breast milk. it's the natural way. there are also vegan infant formula...these people were just abusive.

04-30-2002, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by distance:
it's not about being vegetarian/vegan.
obviously there's something wrong with them if they weren't allowing the kid to have breast milk.

Well that's one set of genes that maybe deserved to die out?
I mean c'mon!
Those big fleshy things weren't *actually* made for grown men to play with...that's why they have a spout.
When you've forgotten this...you don't deserve kids...it's better for the whole human race that way...

04-30-2002, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by distance:
it's not about being vegetarian/vegan.
obviously there's something wrong with them if they weren't allowing the kid to have breast milk.

yeah. exactly. i mean, okay. yeah. that is just so retarded. like letting a baby suck milk from YOUR breast in any way harms animals?

and i know there are tons of vegans who also won't eat dairy products because it's not "natural"

WHAT IS SO NOT NATURAL ABOUT BREAST-FEEDING YOUR KID?? WTF???

jesus fucking christ. either those parents are really stupid or really really cruel.

04-30-2002, 05:18 PM

I always find it funny that vegans won't eat honey b/c it exploits bees.

Maybe the woman thought her breasts were being exploited??? http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/rolleyes.gif

------------------
http://www.wsu.edu/~swinn/sex.gif
You want to sleep with common people like me

04-30-2002, 05:22 PM

Ice?

04-30-2002, 05:23 PM

ice ice baby....

*suicides*

04-30-2002, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Random Female:
The Swintons, who say they approach veganism as a religion, fed the child a diet of "ground nuts, fresh-squeezed fruit juices, herbal tea, beans, cod liver oil and flax seed oil," a complaint said.

after the father said he thought the child was getting "chubby," sources said.

you'd think such overkill hippy shits wouldn't care if their baby was fat. you'd think they'd also know that babies are supposed to be "fat"

04-30-2002, 06:14 PM

There's nothing more natural than breast-feeding your kid.

------------------
Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear.

04-30-2002, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Lie:
There's nothing more natural than breast-feeding your kid.

stop making me quote you.

------------------
http://www.chub.com/images/g_c_gang.gif
pukey

04-30-2002, 06:36 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Smiley33:
stop making me quote you.

Stop agreeing with her.

04-30-2002, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kypper:
Stop agreeing with her.

you ho!

http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/biggrin.gif
http://members.tripod.co.uk/babydavy...es/bunnies.jpg

[This message has been edited by Smiley33 (edited 04-30-2002).]

04-30-2002, 06:53 PM

disgusting.

(the story. although, the man above IS rather gross.)

04-30-2002, 06:54 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Hyperbole:
disgusting.

(the story. although, the man above IS rather gross.)

he's wearing diapies. http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/frown.gif

04-30-2002, 07:43 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Smiley33:
you ho!

http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/biggrin.gif
http://members.tripod.co.uk/babydavy...es/bunnies.jpg

[This message has been edited by Smiley33 (edited 04-30-2002).]

what the hell is wrong with his arms?

04-30-2002, 07:44 PM

diaper rash from hell?

04-30-2002, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Samsa:
and i know there are tons of vegans who also won't eat dairy products because it's not "natural"

its not that dairy products are unnatural. its that a cow needs to give birth before it lactates, and since dairy farmers dont want lots of calves running around (think about it, 300 dairy cows, each producing a calf, its a lot of extra mouths to feed), they kill the vast majority of newborns (a few will be kept to replace old cows). vegans are opposed to dairy products on the basis that it necessarily involves the killing of that calf

04-30-2002, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Random Female:
NEW YORK — A vegan couple in New York City were busted for starving their baby daughter — by denying her breast milk and formula, feeding her only nuts, fruits and vegetables, and allegedly failing to get her medical help for severe malnutrition.

goddamn stupid people from Vegas.

04-30-2002, 08:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant:
goddamn stupid people from Vegas.

http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/confused.gif where'd vegas come into the picture?

04-30-2002, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant:
goddamn stupid people from Vegas.

hahahahahaha

well, it wasn't me...i don't have a kid, and i aint vegan.

04-30-2002, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ammy:
http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/confused.gif where'd vegas come into the picture?

the article said they were vegans! man, that city must just churn out retards.

04-30-2002, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Irrelevant:
the article said they were vegans! man, that city must just churn out retards.

w3rd http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/frown.gif

04-30-2002, 08:23 PM

Those people are messed up. Even if they believe in veganism and follow it "like a religion," they should care more about their child's health than that. Parents are supposed to care more about their child, ideally, than anything else..

04-30-2002, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by So very sad about me:
I always find it funny that vegans won't eat honey b/c it exploits bees.

uh.. honey isn't necessarily non-vegan. it depends on how "strict" the person wants to be.
bees are not harmed by the production of honey.

04-30-2002, 09:53 PM

yea they've got different level of veganism. so that you can outdo each other "im a level 5 vegan ooooh dag" i bet everyone lies and bumps themselves up a level when they meet other vegans. and i bet they bet it all in poker

04-30-2002, 10:06 PM

People can be vegans and not insane, right???

I bet they would have made GREAT parents for me when I was about 10 years old to present time. They would have given me the perfect diet... great eating habits... and hopefully they would have also given me all the necessary vitamin pills. God, I've always dreamed of parents like that. Minus the malnutrition part. :\

BUT THE HEALTHY SKINNY PART IS GOOD!!!!!!
(Not when you're a 20 month old baby, however).

05-01-2002, 12:10 AM

I wonder what the parents' parents were like.

04-30-2002, 05:04 PM	#1
Random Female Posts: n/a	Vegan couple nearly starves child NEW YORK — A vegan couple in New York City were busted for starving their baby daughter — by denying her breast milk and formula, feeding her only nuts, fruits and vegetables, and allegedly failing to get her medical help for severe malnutrition. Joseph and Silva Swinton, both 31, were arrested Friday and charged with reckless endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child for failing to properly feed and care for their baby, Ice. The Swintons, who are being held in lieu of $20,000 bail, face up to seven years in prison if convicted. Sixteen-month-old Ice Swinton weighed only 10 pounds, looked like a 2- or 3-month-old and was half the normal weight of a child her age when authorities discovered her close to death last November. EMS workers rushed Ice to from her Queens home to Long Island Jewish Hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with developmental problems, a distended abdomen, fractured bones, a vitamin deficiency called rickets and a lung disorder — all caused by malnutrition, authorities said. The Swintons, who say they approach veganism as a religion, fed the child a diet of "ground nuts, fresh-squeezed fruit juices, herbal tea, beans, cod liver oil and flax seed oil," a complaint said. Even when doctors told the couple their baby was on the brink of death in November, both parents insisted "there was nothing wrong" and were resistant to treatment, the complaint said. After a four-month hospital stay, the New York City Administration for Children's Services placed the baby in a foster home. Several months on a healthy diet have helped the 20-month-old to achieve the functions of a 10- to 12-month-old baby, but the child is still struggling, authorities said. Warren Silverman, a lawyer representing the mother, questioned why there was such a long delay to file charges. "If Long Island Jewish Hospital at that time thought that something was amiss, why wasn't something done right away?" he asked. The Swintons have been allowed supervised visits with their daughter — but ACS has asked that a judge order them stopped after the father said he thought the child was getting "chubby," sources said. Neighbor Toyin Savage said she was "shocked." Another neighbor said she saw the baby recently. "I asked how old she was and they said, 'Almost a year.' She looked very small. They said she was a vegetarian — I didn't think about it at the time." ------------------- stupid motherfuckers..

04-30-2002, 05:06 PM	#2
Mark LeDrew Posts: n/a	Stupid non-meat eaters. Won't they ever learn? ------------------ http://mywebpages.comcast.net/mledrew/kid.jpg This is just a modern rock song, This is just a sorry lament, We're four boys in our corduroys, We're not terrific but we're competent.

04-30-2002, 05:18 PM	#8
So very sad about me Posts: n/a	I always find it funny that vegans won't eat honey b/c it exploits bees. Maybe the woman thought her breasts were being exploited??? http://www.netphoria.org/wwwboard/rolleyes.gif ------------------ http://www.wsu.edu/~swinn/sex.gif You want to sleep with common people like me

04-30-2002, 05:23 PM	#10
Ammy Posts: n/a	ice ice baby.... suicides

04-30-2002, 06:14 PM	#12
Lie Posts: n/a	There's nothing more natural than breast-feeding your kid. ------------------ Boot the grime of this world in the crotch, dear.

04-30-2002, 06:53 PM	#16
Hyperbole Posts: n/a	disgusting. (the story. although, the man above IS rather gross.)

04-30-2002, 07:44 PM	#19
Ammy Posts: n/a	diaper rash from hell?

04-30-2002, 08:23 PM	#26
Lunadisarm Posts: n/a	Those people are messed up. Even if they believe in veganism and follow it "like a religion," they should care more about their child's health than that. Parents are supposed to care more about their child, ideally, than anything else..

04-30-2002, 09:53 PM	#28
PhantomFM Posts: n/a	yea they've got different level of veganism. so that you can outdo each other "im a level 5 vegan ooooh dag" i bet everyone lies and bumps themselves up a level when they meet other vegans. and i bet they bet it all in poker

04-30-2002, 10:06 PM	#29
undivinemartyr Posts: n/a	People can be vegans and not insane, right??? I bet they would have made GREAT parents for me when I was about 10 years old to present time. They would have given me the perfect diet... great eating habits... and hopefully they would have also given me all the necessary vitamin pills. God, I've always dreamed of parents like that. Minus the malnutrition part. :\ BUT THE HEALTHY SKINNY PART IS GOOD!!!!!! (Not when you're a 20 month old baby, however).

05-01-2002, 12:10 AM	#30
Krafty Posts: n/a	I wonder what the parents' parents were like.