The Future of School Food

The Government has just published its proposed new School Food Standards, and we have a short window to change them before they are officially approved.

The proposal still treats animal products as the norm, while failing to make plant-based food a priority. That is not good enough, especially when this generation of children is growing up in a climate crisis and we urgently need to transform the food system they are growing up in.

There has been one important step forward: schools will no longer have a mandatory requirement to serve meat, as meat, poultry and pulses can all count as protein. But this alone is not enough.

The Government is calling these “once-in-a-generation” changes. This generation cannot afford to wait for gradual change.

We are calling for at least one plant-based main meal in every school, every day.

The proposal has not yet been approved, so there is still time to strengthen the standards. But we need to act now.

Sign and share the Plant-Based Schools open letter and call on the Government to make plant-based food a real priority in schools.

One plant-based meal offered in every school for every child 

Dear The Department for Education and Secretary, Lucy Powell MP, 

We write to you as a deeply concerned and caring group of public figures, aligned organisations, parents and school staff. We are calling for the immediate transition of school food provision to provide healthy whole-food plant-based meals everyday in schools and adapt school food to serve a majority plant-rich meals. 

For over 10 years the School Food Standards have mandated unscientifically-backed requirements to serve meat three times a week, fish once every three weeks and dairy everyday, while allowing rampant sugars and saturated fat-filled fast food to complete the daily lunch menus. Children are exposed to these unhealthy foods which are then normalised and set-up their food preferences for life. We acknowledge that the government has taken a great first step in removing the meat mandate and diversifying the protein provision in schools, however, we believe that this does not go far enough. 

Nearly one in four children now leave primary school with obesity in England, rising from 21.0% in 2019/20 to 23.7% in 2024/25, according to the NHS National Child Measurement Programme. Diets centred on plant foods are consistently associated with lower intakes of saturated fat and cholesterol and higher intakes of fibre, potassium, magnesium, folate and antioxidant-rich phytochemicals than diets high in animal products. By diversifying the protein provision in schools to include beans, pulses and legumes, this not only reduces children’s consumption of harmful saturated fats, but increases their access to fibre and healthy nutrients found in these foods, while simultaneously normalising them. 

After the heat waves we’ve had this summer, the United Kingdom is on track to have ever worse crop failures that will send societal collapse-threatening shocks through our incredibly fragile food system. This would make us even more reliant on imports from an increasingly unstable global system that is also vulnerable to climate breakdown effects. 

Animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of climate breakdown. Unlike the fossil fuel industry which primarily affects the global climate through increasing the release of greenhouse gases, of which animal agriculture accounts for over a quarter of all total greenhouse gas emissions, animal agriculture also uses the largest amount of land, approximately 26% of non-iced land, that negatively impacts natural biodiversity. It requires an astronomical amount of clean drinking water which, as water becomes more scarce, will pose even more negative effects to our weak system. These effects, coupled with the billions of tonnes of animal waste released into our water ways every year, are turbocharging our journey to ecosystem collapse. 

In the United Kingdom, the school institution is the largest public sector catering provider, serving over 1 billion meals a year. If these could be transitioned to serve more plants on plates and journey away from animal products altogether, this would drastically decrease animal agriculture requirements and allow us to transition to more environmentally friendly and healthier food for children and society. 

Public support for increasing plant-based food in schools is substantial. Recent YouGov polling found that 46.7% of UK parents support increasing the amount of plant-based food served in schools, while 85% believe children should learn more about healthy food choices at school. At the same time, the Government's updated School Food Standards still allows for unhealthy meat to be served on three or more days each week. Therefore, only removing the school meat mandate is not enough and increasing whole-food plant based meals with serving at least one healthy whole-food plant-based dish per day in schools will help protect our children’s future.

Kind regards,

Plant-Based Schools

Dame Joanna Lumley

Dale Vince OBE

George Monbiot, Journalist and Environmental Activist

Chris Packham, TV host and Naturalist

Alexis Gauthier, Michelin Star Chef

Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Clapham & Brixton Hill

Libby Peppiatt, CEO The Vegan Society 

Natalie Bennett, Green Party Peer and Baroness of Manor Castle

Neil Duncan-Jordan MP (He/Him/His), Member of Parliament for Poole  

Carla Denyer MP, Green Member of Parliament for Bristol Central

Laura Lisa Hellwig, Managing Director & Head of Campaigns at Viva!

Sue Coe, Artist 

Lucie Brown Co-director Parents For Future UK 

ProVeg UK

Animal Rising

The Vegan Society

Viva!

 

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