Essay
Plant-Based School Lunch
House File 4999 would require schools to give the option of a plant-based school lunch if a student requests it. There are many positives to adding this bill, but there are also negatives. One thing to be clear on is this bill will be required to be enacted only if a student files a form out requesting a plant-based school lunch option. Providing plant-based lunch options raises academic success, lowers childhood obesity, and helps reduce greenhouse gases. But on the flip side, there are nutritional concerns.
The first positive is that plant-based school lunches increase academic success. “Andy Finke, chief operating officer of DC Central Kitchen, stressed that there is a clear connection between nutrition education and academic achievement” (Prevention 1). If there is food with good nutrients, this is beneficial for the brain and for focus.
The next positive is that plant-based school lunches lower childhood obesity. Childhood obesity in America has grown these past few decades, and poor school lunch food is a part of this. “Obesity can cause type 2 diabetes, the prevalence of which increased 95% in U.S. children between 2001 and 2017.” (Doctors 2). With these rates rising, adding the option of having a vegan lunch could help these numbers slow or even stop.
The final positive for plant-based school lunches is that they would help lower greenhouse gas emissions. Now the addition of vegan lunches would not stop them nor significantly reduce the amount emitted, but with enough schools in the state and in the country, this could help in the long run. “A 2016 study by the Harvard School of Public Health reported that for every pound of beef consumed in the United States, 27 pounds of greenhouse gases were produced.” (Vegan 3).
A negative of providing plant-based school lunches are the nutritional concerns. “Veganism also brings issues like protein and calcium deficiencies. Vegan adults usually monitor their health and take particular supplements, for example vitamin B12.” (Di Mario 2). Vegan children who would choose to eat a vegan lunch every day would know how to watch what they eat in terms of nutritional value. But children who have signed up for the program and who are not vegan but would like to have something other than what the school is providing that day most likely would not know how to ‘watch what they eat’.
The pros of plant-based school lunches outweigh the cons. Vegan school lunches would help brain development and manage childhood obesity, and providing them would help reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. But there are nutritional drawbacks for uninformed children. Overall, there are more benefits to be had from the addition of plant-based school lunches.
Bibliography
Di Mario, M. (2023, October 31). The big debate: Should school lunches be vegan? Resources for English Language Learners and Teachers | Pearson English. https://blog.pearsoninternationalschools.com/the-big-debate-should-school-lunches-be-vegan/
ELibrary Minnesota. (n.d.). https://research-ebsco-com.content.elibrarymn.org/c/cezuz4/viewer/pdf/jxll4izkmr
ELibrary Minnesota. (n.d.-b). https://research-ebsco-com.content.elibrarymn.org/c/viartl/viewer/pdf/nv4ajhnslf
ELibrary Minnesota. (n.d.-c). https://research-ebsco-com.content.elibrarymn.org/c/cezuz4/viewer/html/kffbeq3fnj