School slammed for going completely meat free
A school’s decision to go “meat free” permanently has sparked anger among parents, with some even trying to transfer their children to different schools.
Barrowford Primary School in Lancashire, England, has begun offering vegetarian dinners and urged students not to bring meat in their packed lunches.
Though the school introduced the new rule last year, a letter informing parents was only sent out last week, according to The Sun.
The school has said it hasn’t received any complaints about the new meals, but unhappy parents have taken to Facebook to share their feelings.
Zoe Douglas, whose children attend Barrowford, is even attempting to transfer her children to a new school as she has “had enough”.
“It is a joke. I’m looking to move mine as I’ve had enough of that school,” she said.
“I think they forget that non-meat eaters and vegans have to take a lot of supplements. What supplements are they getting instead at that school?
“Nothing, probably saving on food costs.”
Ms Douglas is also angered by the fact the meal plan was introduced “ages ago”, but she has only just found out why her daughter returned from school talking about “disgusting” new sausages.
“I only found out this week in an email,” Ms Douglas said.
“Amelia ordered sausage and mash and when she bit into her sausage she said ‘eww’.
“Teachers said, ‘oh, it’s a vegetarian sausage’ but they hadn’t told her before she ordered.
“She ended up just having mash for her dinner. I’m fuming. She’s been on packed lunches since.”
Another parent, who wished to remain anonymous, questioned why everyone couldn’t be accommodated, rather than forcing meat-eating kids to adapt their diet.
“Why not accommodate the veggies, vegans, whatever and add to the menu instead of making our kids adapt?” they queried.
“And to request parents pack lunches that are veggie as well, not to mention the local farmers, this is absolutely ludicrous.
“No wonder my kids are starving and raid the fridge before the shoes are off.
“Vegetarian is a choice for when they are older.”
Other parents asked, “what happened to freedom of choice?”, while others said they were “dumbstruck” at the “absolutely ridiculous” decision.
Some locals are particularly upset, due to the school’s rural location where farming is a core part of the area.
Livestock buyer Alex Nutter said: “We have absolutely no hope of teaching the younger generation about our food production when primary schools are teaching them to be ‘meat-free’.
“It’s very worrying what we’re up against.”
Other parents have welcomed the move and see it as the school catering to the different needs of students.
Head teacher Rachel Tomlinson said the decision was made to “stop climate change” in the letter sent to parents.
Ms Tomlinson noted that meat and dairy products “come at a huge environmental cost” as the livestory industry has a large carbon footprint.
“If you still want to send packed lunches, could you please consider meat-free options to further support us in doing our bit to reduce carbon emissions as a school community?” she concluded in the letter.
When approached by The Sun, Ms Tomlinson said the decision was made to show changing daily habits can have an impact.
“Our children learn about the principles of sustainable development as part of the national curriculum, and are really interested in how they can contribute to better looking after our environment,” she said.
“We have been careful to approach this in a balanced way, and teach that it is fine to eat meat, but that reducing our consumption can help our planet.”
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