They don't rely on a substitute for breastfeeding. That was my point -- if the mother consumes the proper nutrients, the pregnancy and infancy stages will be no different. I apologize if I came off as elitist, but I assure you there's a difference between arrogance and confidence. It's worth noting that I used to eat meat too, and I wasn't about to give it up easily. Making the change required some seriously convincing evidence and challenging of my beliefs. Consequently, if there are any good, rational reasons to consume meat I will approach them with an equally open mind. Problem is, I haven't heard any. Vegans certainly do not cause more harm than good, and again I don't think taking isolated incidents like that and making blanket statements is honest. Vegans are generally against the pet industries because they breed animals as commodities and treat them as novelties (puppy mills are patently unethical). If a vegan has a pet, there's a good chance they rescued it or bought it before becoming vegan. That being said, there are many sources out there for having healthy pets on a vegan diet -- this is obviously more difficult than with humans, but with careful attention, still maintainable I think. Especially since there is an entire industry for vegan pet foods.