Hot Links: Italy blames vegan parents, students run with dogs, and the ghosts of Olympics past

Step right up and see the marvelous assortment of links, assembled to assuage your apathy. Beguile your boo and brag to your besties with your brimming knowledge of the best bundle of burgeoning stories this side of the net:

Italy Wants To Jail Vegans For 4 Years If They Don’t Feed Their Kids Meat – (distractify.com)

Italy is considering making parents criminally liable if their child becomes malnourished from a vegan diet:

The legislation is still in early phases, but Savino says that the law would make parents criminally liable if a diet they force on their child leads to deficiencies in iron, zinc and important vitamins for growth. She points out that a lack of these vitamins and minerals can cause neurological problems and anemia. In Italy, five children have been hospitalized within the last 18 months because of their vegan diets. Last year, an Italian court ordered a vegetarian mother to cook meat for her 11-month-old baby after the woman’s ex-husband complained about the child’s diet.

High School Cross Country Team Takes Lonely Shelter Dogs On Runs – (scarymommy.com)

This is an adorable story of high school students making a difference in the lives of dogs (with an accompanying video):

Students from the St. Joseph High School cross country team picked up about 12 dogs and took them for a group run. “It was a win-win for both the cross country team and shelter dogs,” said Stacy Silva, community outreach coordinator for Santa Barbara County Animal Services, The Independent reported. “Tired dogs equal happy dogs.” […] Coach Escobar told reporters that he came up with the idea when he was thinking of a fun way that the teens could earn their volunteer service hours that the school requires. “I just thought it would be a great idea to get the kids together with some of the dogs and go for a run,” he shared. “And that’s exactly what we did.”

Abandoned Olympic Venues From Around The World (Or Why It’s The Biggest Waste Of Money Ever) – (9gag.com)

Ever wonder what happens to Olympic venues when the games end? 9gag has a gallery of photos and some of them are quite chilling.