Insightful Initiatives: The School Plates Programme and Plant-Based Universities, Part 1 of 2

Let us acquaint ourselves with ProVeg UK, a chapter of ProVeg International that has the bold mandate to: “inform the public about matters related to food and to reduce the global consumption of animals by 50% by 2040.” ProVeg UK was founded by a former lawyer and journalist Jimmy Pierson (vegan), who envisioned that all meal services in the country would provide simple delicious vegan meals.

Mr. Pierson felt strongly about the rights of animal-people, and as a father of a daughter soon to enter school, Mr. Pierson felt compelled to take action: “What if veganism could be implemented in school?” He methodically studied the government policies and regulations covering food services provided in schools, namely The Requirements for School Food Regulations established in 2014. Under the requirements schools must feed the students a nutritious and balanced diet, use sustainable and local ingredients, and foster an environment which is conducive to healthy eating habits.

As a first step on this discovery mission, Mr. Pierson contacted the local authorities overseeing the responsibility of the food services in schools, food companies, catering managers and catering teams. “The strongest argument that we have to try persuade local authorities and schools to work with us is environmental arguments, climate reasons. The National Food Strategy, the first independent review of the UK food system for 75 years, recommended that the UK reduces its meat consumption by 30% by the year 2032. And also, the Climate Change Committee, which is the government's leading, official climate change advisor, has called for a 20% reduction in all types of meat and dairy by 2030, rising to 35% by 2050. And these two calls for meat reduction from experts are really helpful in encouraging local authorities to work with us.”

Let us now find out how ProVeg UK was able to extend its campaign and inform national food regulations at a federal level. We will also examine the works of ProVeg International to promote the switch to veganism in various parts of the world.