Veganism in School: A Matter of Justice and Health

A student sits in class, visibly hungry with a growling stomach. As the bell rings, he rushes to the lunchroom and is met with disappointment. The only lunch option is an unappetizing musty veggie salad. Solely because this student is vegan, should he be forced to bring lunch from home? Or even worse, starve?

Surviving as a vegan at an American high school is nearly impossible. According to the School Nutrition Association, less than 14% of school districts in the United States provide vegan lunch options in at least one of their schools, leading to countless hungry students (Erskine).

The role of a school is to provide students with a proper learning environment that enables them to excel physically and intellectually (Darling-Hammond). But, the current school lunch system is the complete opposite. It is detrimental to vegan students as it diminishes their physical and mental abilities when they don’t receive their essential nutrition for the day.

It is imperative that schools better accommodate vegan students by providing plant-based meals so they can receive the same learning environment as non-vegan students and learn to their maximum potential.

Opponents of vegan meals may argue that there aren’t enough vegan students for schools to add more vegan meals. However, even if 5% of high school students are vegan and 3% of middle school students are vegan, the school system must make a change to account for every student’s dietary needs and preferences (Vegetarian). Every student not accounted for is a student that suffers from inequality.

Those same people may also argue that vegan meals have a detrimental effect on the environment due to their high production cost. While this may be true, the production cost of vegan food is minimal compared to the costs of producing meat and dairy products. According to a study conducted by Harvard University, livestock production alone accounts for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions which is higher than the emissions of all vehicles combined (Eshel).

Furthermore, from a health perspective, vegan meals decrease the risk for numerous diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and some cancers, and are endorsed by public health organizations such as the World Health Organization and the American Medical Association, proving to be worth the high price (O'Connor).

Change happens through communal effort but starts on the individual level. A school administrator’s job is to “ensure a productive learning environment for [all] students” (Bruens). This is only possible when every student receives the same resources and opportunities to succeed.

Administrators, be a catalyst for change and start with a simple gesture at your schools. Implement at least one appetizing plant-based meal to establish a proper learning environment that allows all students to equally thrive.

Work Cited

Bruens, Robbie. “School Administrator Job Description, Career and Salary: Resilient Educator.” ResilientEducator.com, 1 Sept. 2020, https://resilienteducator.com/teaching-careers/educational-supervisor/.

Darling-Hammond, Linda, et al. “Implications for Educational Practice of the Science of Learning and Development.” Taylor & Francis, 17 Feb. 2019, https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10888691.2018.1537791.

Erskine, Eliza. “More than 14% of U.S. School Districts Now Offer Plant-Based Lunch Options to Students.” One Green Planet, One Green Planet, 17 Oct. 2019, https://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/us-school-districts-offering-plant-based-lu nch/.

Eshel, Gidon, et al. “Environmentally Optimal, Nutritionally Sound, Protein and Energy Conserving Plant Based Alternatives to U.S. Meat - Scientific Reports.” Nature, Nature Publishing Group UK, 20 Sept. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-46590-1.

O'Connor, Anahad. “Advice from a Vegan Cardiologist.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 6 Aug. 2014, https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/08/06/advice-from-a-vegan-cardiologist/?searchRes ultPosition=8.

“The Vegetarian Resource Group.” The VRG RSS, https://www.vrg.org/blog/2014/05/30/how-many-teens-and-other-youth-are-vegetarian-an d-vegan-the-vegetarian-resource-group-asks-in-a-2014-national-poll/.