Italian Court Mandates That Vegetarian Mom Must Feed Her Son Meat

Italy is apparently not a fan of forcing your children to go on strict diets. An Italian court is ordering a mother in Bergamo, Italy, who raised her 12-year-old son on a vegetarian diet consisting of whole grains, rice, and vegetables, since 2006 to feed him meat at least once a week, according to Italian news source, The Local.

Although the unnamed Italian mother had been raising her son on the strict no-meat diet for the past nine years, unbeknownst to her, the boy's father — whom she had divorced — and his paternal grandmother had been feeding him McDonald's, polenta, sausage, and gorgonzola.The family matter was resolved in the Civil Court of Bergamo. His father claimed that the vegetarian diet was bad for a growing child's health, while his mother complained that the boy's secret binge fests on the weekend were making him sick.

As a compromise, the court ordered the mother to feed her son meat once a week, and his father to not feed the boy meat more than twice on the weekends. A balanced diet "è molto bene!"