School Meat Mandate Scrapped After PETA Pressure

London – After years of campaigning by PETA and a coalition of health experts, environmental groups, school caterers, MPs, and more than 50,000 supporters, including longtime PETA allies Paul, Mary and Stella McCartney and their organisation Meat Free Monday, the government has announced plans to scrap requirements forcing schools in England to serve meat, fish, and dairy. From next September, schools will instead be free to meet nutritional standards using foods such as pulses, meat-free proteins, and fortified plant milks.

 “The long-overdue changes to school food rules reflect society’s move away from meat,” said the McCartney family. “They will spare animals and give children a greener, kinder, healthier future.”

The move will finally bring schools into step with the government’s public health advice – the Eatwell Guide – which allows for nutritional needs to be met with plant-based protein sources such as beans, peas, lentils, and mycoprotein. The new legislation also places limits on processed meat and dairy cheese servings, due to the negative health impacts of these foods. 

“For too long, outdated rules have required schools to put animal products on the menu, even though children can get the nutrients they need from plant-based foods,” says PETA Senior Corporate Projects Manager Dr Carys Bennett. “Removing that requirement is an important and welcome step that gives caterers more freedom to serve nutritious vegan meals. PETA is now urging the governments of Wales and Northern Ireland to follow England’s lead.”

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” notes that each person who goes vegan spares hundreds of animals every year a violent death and slashes their own risk of suffering from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and strokes. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow PETA on Facebook, X, TikTok, or Instagram.  

Contact:

Lucy Watson +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]

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