“Vegan Fridays” Launch in New York Schools
An estimated 1.1 million school children will be eating plant-based meals as part of a new initiative to tackle the country’s health crisis.
Public schools in New York will serve an entirely vegan menu every Friday throughout the academic year as part of a new policy to help tackle the country’s healthcare crisis from Mayor Eric Adams.
The new initiative started this week, with Adams calling it a way to improve "the quality of life for thousands of New York City students."
"Plant-based meals are delicious and nutritious, which is why I previously called for vegetarian and vegan options in schools," Adams said in a statement. "I'm thrilled to see that all students will now have access to healthy foods that will prevent debilitating health conditions."
New York is the nations largest school disctrict and all 1,700 of its public schools are set to take part in “Vegan Fridays”, meaning around 1.1 million school children will be eating plant-based at school at least once a week.
Vegan options are already daily meal options in all of the city’s public schools, but starting Friday and continuing weekly, the lunch offering will be vegan. However, students can still request a non-vegan option, and and milk, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, hummus and pretzels will always be available to students, reports Associated Press.
“We should not be feeding the crises.”
Speaking with Fox 5’s Good Day New York, Adams said: “I love healthy food, and I love life, and our children should not continually be fed food that’s causing their healthcare crises: childhood obesity, childhood diabetes, asthma.
Last year, Adams made history when he was elected as the second black mayor of New York City. As a prominent plant-based advocate, health injustice was one of the key pillars of his 2021 campaign.
As Brooklyn Borough President, Adams worked to implement plant-based diets and nutrition in hospitals, schools, prisons, and communities all over New York City. He banned processed meat from schools in 2019 and worked with former NYC mayor Bill de Blasio to introduce Meatless Mondays at 15 Brooklyn-based schools. On top of that, Adams also authorized a $10,000 discretionary grant to support plant-based nutrition education at the State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate College of Medicine.
“Our children are weighing in — they’re doing food testing, they’re determining the type of food they want that’s healthy,” Adams continued. “And you know what? They asked for this. They are tired of the food they are being fed in their schools, and they want healthy options.”
Adams also commented on the climate impact of animal agriculture. “We have to do a better job in the food that we serve and we have to move away from our fixation on the products that are also destroying our environment,” Adams explained. “That is often not talked about. We talk about fossil fuel, we talk about ‘we need electric vehicles.’ No one is talking about the plate.
“The plate is not only destroying mother nature, it is destroying our mothers and our children as well.”
A Plant-Powered Future
“Vegan Fridays” come as an increasing amount of U.S. public institutions are choosing to promote more sustainable and healthy meal choices.
Berkeley recently became the first U.S. city to commit to phasing out animal products to help support the city’s climate goals. The landmark resolution will shift half of the city’s current spending on animal-based foods to plant-based sources by 2024, meaning a huge increase in sustainable and healthy plant-based food at public events, and in city buildings including senior centres and jails.
Meanwhile a new law now makes it a legal requirement for hospitals in New York State to offer healthy plant-based foods at every meal, in a move to fight against preventable chronic illnesses like heart disease and diabetes.
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The footage was reportedly recorded at Marshall BioResources in North Rose, New York, where up to 22,000 dogs - mostly beagles - are being bred for animal experimentation.