Vegan Action
Reed Mangels, PhD, RD — Vegan Nutrition Pioneer
By Charles Stahler
Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, is one of the foremost experts on vegan nutrition for children, both from a scientific and practical perspective, as she has raised two vegan kids starting from pregnancy. For almost 40 years, Reed has contributed her time to help a multitude of groups and individuals educate others about vegan diets. Whenever The Vegetarian Resource Group does a booth at a professional conference, and some of her prior students walk by and see her books, they gush about what a great professor she was.
Reed is a true pioneer and is indispensable to the movement, reaching both health professionals and consumers. She has immensely influenced the dietetic profession. We can't possibly list all her activities here, but will give a few.
Mangels is a co-author of The Dietitian's Guide to Vegetarian Diets, which is used as a nutrition textbook. She was co-author of the American Dietetic Association 2003 and 2009 position papers on vegetarian diets, and served as chair of their Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group. She's mentored innumerable students doing nutrition projects and internships.
Among her many peer-reviewed articles are "Bone Nutrients for Vegetarians" for the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, "The Youngest Vegetarians" for ICAN: Infant, Child & Adolescent Nutrition, and Considerations in Planning Vegan Diets: Children for the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. She previously wrote the section on nutrition for vegetarian children for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Nutrition Care Manual, used in hospitals around the country. More recently, she reviewed the Nutrition Care Manual vegan menus, which can be used for most situations by patients and clients.
A sampling of Reed's presentations has included a two-hour webinar on Vegetarian Diets for New York State Women Infants Children (WIC) staff; Vegetarian Moms, Infants, and Young Children at Arizona Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Annual Meeting; and Vegetarian Pregnancy and Lactation at Partners in Perinatal Health Conference. She also presented on vegetarian children at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, for Maryland WIC health professionals, at Rutgers University, and at the American Dietetic Association annual meeting. Media interviews have included The New York Times, Family Circle magazine, Polish Parenting magazine, The Washington Post, American Baby magazine, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, Mundo Hispanico, Shape, and more. She also answered vegetarian/vegan questions for numerous food companies, such as Wegmans Supermarkets and Campbell Soup Company. In 2019, Reed influenced a vitamin company to change the formulation of their vegetarian prenatal vitamin to include iodine because of the important role iodine plays in pregnancy.
Reed's goal is to provide scientifically sound information. She said, "I want dietitians and other professionals to recognize the health and environmental benefits of vegetarian/vegan diets so they are supportive of clients who are interested in following a vegetarian/vegan diet." Reed strives to "empower people and convey to them that vegetarian/vegan diets can be a health-promoting way to eat, that it is not complicated and does not require a lot of time to prepare meals, and that the meals are suitable for individuals of every age."
