In news that will surprise no one, it emerges that vegan children are thinner, shorter and – dare we say it – sicklier than their counterparts. A recent study by the University of Florence details how children who follow a vegan or vegetarian diet are deficient in vitamins and minerals and consistently exhibit a lower BMI than their omnivorous peers.

Although children who follow a vegetarian diet consume more fibre, iron, folate, vitamin C and magnesium than omnivores, the only way for plant-based children to grow healthily is with a carefully planned regimen of supplementation – think pills with your brekker every day until you leave home. And while Dr Monica Dino from the University of Florence cautiously states that a ‘vegan diet can be adequate’ but does ‘require additional support’, Professor Martin Warren from the Quadram Institute for Bioscience goes further: ‘risks of micronutrient deficiencies remain real and should not be underestimated’.

At least someone seems alarmed. What Professor Warren also sagely alludes to in his comments is the lack of accounting for the ‘confounding factors’ of ‘socioeconomic status’ and ‘parental education’ in the study.........

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