Victory! Government Drops Meat Mandate for Schools
Great news for animals and students: the government has dropped the requirement that schools serve dairy, meat, and fish!
From September 2027, English schools are no longer required to serve meat and fish and dairy, and may meet students nutritional needs with plant based foods instead.
This move follows a campaign 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.
Better yet, the new standards also require schools to serve more pulses and restrict processed meat and dairy cheese, while encouraging meat-free days.
“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.”Here’s why the abolition of the meat mandate matters.
Animal Flesh and Milk Are Unhealthy
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) placed processed meats in the same category as cigarettes and asbestos more than 10 years ago, but all animal flesh and dairy consumption pose health risks.
Harvard Medical School notes a “clear link” between a high red and processed meat intake and a higher risk for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and premature death; while the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine warns that chicken is high in cholesterol, carcinogens and pathogens.
Dairy, which rips babies away from grieving mothers, who are used as milk machines and killed when their production drops, has been linked to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers. Harvard researchers have also debunked claims that drinking milk is the key to strong bones, noting that calcium, Vitamin D and magnesium can be found in plants.
Meanwhile, a major 2025 study concluded that children on well-planned animal-free diets often had better heart health markers and consumed more vitamins and fibre.
Children Don’t Want To Eat Their Friends
Kids naturally love animals, which is why adults often use euphemisms and avoid revealing that meat is the product of animal slaughter for as long as possible. As the saying goes, “There’s a reason you take kids apple picking and not to a slaughterhouse.”
The animal agriculture industry wants us to ignore that piglets use unique vocalisations to talk to their mums; that chickens dream in colour just like us, and that fish feel happier in the company of friends.
Children would likely never sleep again if they knew that cows, pigs and sheep kick and scream when they’re hoisted by a hind leg to have their throats slit.
This victory means children don’t have to pig out on Peppa, nosh on Nemo, or chomp on Chicken Little. Instead, they can enjoy nutritious plant proteins that harm no one.
We Can’t Avoid Climate Catastrophe While Eating Meat
We’ve reached a critical point when it comes to what kind of planet our children will inherit. The world is already experiencing a climate catastrophe, with record-hot days, wildfires, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events.
Part of the problem is methane, a potent greenhouse gas and the second-largest contributor to Earth’s warming after carbon dioxide (CO2). A 45% reduction of methane by 2030 would avoid nearly 0.3°C of warming by 2045 – and the world’s biggest source of methane is meat.
Conversely, research shows that animal-free diets lead to 75% lower climate-heating emissions, water pollution, and land use than diets high in animal flesh. Giving our kids a future tomorrow means giving them lentils today.
Go Vegan For A Kinder, Healthier, Greener World
Even if you grew up eating animals, it’s never too late to reap the benefits of an animal-free diet, which is better for you, animals, and the environment.
Download your FREE Vegan Starter Kit now, learn a lesson in compassion, and share your newfound education with others!
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