Vegetarianism for Pets and Children?

Question: Does one have the moral obligation to provide a vegetarian diet to those of whom one is taking care?

The question is asking this: if you are taking care of a living animal (including humans), do you have an obligation to provide that animal with a vegetarian diet?

I think the answer to this question depends on a number of factors. Firstly, one must decide if abstinence from meat is even necessary in the diet of those of whom one is taking care. Parrots, for example, are mostly herbivorous, but some parrots do require animal protein, but they can get that protein from slugs and other grubs that have very little moral value. In the case of these parrots, a vegetarian diet may not be necessary at all.

Secondly, the animal should be able to get all their essential nutrients from the vegetarian diet, and the person providing the food should have all the necessary resources to provide the vegetarian food.

So, since cats are carnivorous, people have no obligation to feed their cats vegetarian diets. In fact, people may have the obligation to provide meat for their cats. Dogs, being omnivores with a carnivorous bias, could probably safely consume a mostly but not entirely meat-free diet. A human who is unable to make a choice in their diet, but could survive on a vegetarian diet, should be fed a vegetarian diet. Note again that this depends highly on each individual animal's needs.

I think the most interesting case is that of a child. Does one have an obligation to provide a child with a vegetarian diet. In this particular case, I would say no. Many vegetarians become ill after consuming meat when they have not done so for a long time. Since a child is unable to make the choices to accommodate that health risk, I think it is best to provide a child with a mostly vegetarian diet with occasional exposure to animal bacteria. Vegetarian should always be available as a choice for a child.