I am a vegetarian myself but my first reaction was that students should have the option of meat if they want it.

Since my kids don't eat meat, I am not aware of the meat quality served in schools and one PP' mention of the quality being low gave me a pause. If that is the case, I think going full vegetarian is better than serving bad quality meat.

I think you can probably serve a much healthier vegetarian lunch than one with meat protein. Vegetables and beans provide as much if not more protein and are much more affordable. The "meat" served in school lunches is so processed as to hardly resemble real food that I can't think that this move is only a positive thing for kids. What are they missing - chicken nuggets that even my kid won't eat?

Anonymous wrote:I wonder if it saves the school money at all?

At least one local parent blog (I checked) said that it will save a little money on food, and save slightly more on packaging, food storage, re-cooking and anticipated disposal expenses.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The school is offering balanced meals, though. There's nothing wrong with a child not eating meat.

They don't reach full potential height.

Sorry but that's untrue.

The research is inconclusive on this point although there is evidence to lean towards the side that says meat eating leads to slightly higher final height. Most people when asked this question would lean towards the side in believing that people who eat meat are likely to end up taller than their vegetarian counterparts.

Age-adjusted regression analysis showed that on average Adventist vegetarian children were taller than their meat-consuming classmates (2.5 and 2.0 cm for boys and girls, respectively). These results did not change materially when adjusting for other food groups. Nor did adjustment for parental height and socioeconomic factors in a sub-sample of 518 children. The results indicate that vegetarian children and adolescents on a balanced diet grow at least as tall as children who consume meat.

Eur J Clin Nutr. 1991 Jan;45(1):51-8.
Attained height of lacto-ovo vegetarian children and adolescents.
Sabaté J, Lindsted KD, Harris RD, Sanchez A.

I wonder if it saves the school money at all?

i love this idea!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[b]

Anonymous wrote:The school is offering balanced meals, though. There's nothing wrong with a child not eating meat.

They don't reach full potential height.

Sorry but that's untrue.

The research is inconclusive on this point although there is evidence to lean towards the side that says meat eating leads to slightly higher final height. Most people when asked this question would lean towards the side in believing that people who eat meat are likely to end up taller than their vegetarian counterparts.

Anonymous wrote:[b]

Anonymous wrote:The school is offering balanced meals, though. There's nothing wrong with a child not eating meat.

They don't reach full potential height.

Sorry but that's untrue.

I am not vegetarian, but I can't believe that they could afford to be including any meat that I would even consider ingesting. Thus, I am all for going vegetarian if it means that they can afford to serve more well-balanced meals in general.

[b]

Anonymous wrote:The school is offering balanced meals, though. There's nothing wrong with a child not eating meat.

They don't reach full potential height. But I agree that the meat they serve in schools stinks.

The school is offering balanced meals, though. There's nothing wrong with a child not eating meat.

The comments on the huff post article about this are priceless. Lots of people complaining about how vegetarianism is unhealthy, etc. I mean, if you serve the kids cheese quesadillas every day, that's not great. But vegetables and beans and tofu and dairy? Much better than whatever crappy processed meat they'd otherwise get.

The only problem is that some kids need the balance. My dd eats so little, and very small portions of meat that it scares me.

Anonymous wrote:I figured with so many discussions about healthy eating options in daycares and schools, I thought this would interest many of the DCUM posters.

The school went vegetarian 3 days, then 4 days and finally completely vegetarian. It seems that the kids were receptive. We don't keep vegetarian, but our kids don't really need meat at a meal, so I wonder if this could fly in the DC area.

http://www.wtop.com/1228/3305379/Elementary-school-adopts-all-vegetarian-menu

I wish. We could stop packing lunch every day.

I figured with so many discussions about healthy eating options in daycares and schools, I thought this would interest many of the DCUM posters.

The school went vegetarian 3 days, then 4 days and finally completely vegetarian. It seems that the kids were receptive. We don't keep vegetarian, but our kids don't really need meat at a meal, so I wonder if this could fly in the DC area.

http://www.wtop.com/1228/3305379/Elementary-school-adopts-all-vegetarian-menu