Food fight: Meat-free school meals spark furor in France

[DonViejo]

The ecologist mayor of one of France’s most famously gastronomic cities has kicked up a storm of protest and debate by taking meat off the menu at school canteens

By JOHN LEICESTER Associated Press
February 23, 2021, 2:06 PM
• 3 min read

LE PECQ, France -- By taking meat off the menu at school canteens, the ecologist mayor of one of France's most famously gastronomic cities has kicked up a storm of protest and debate as the country increasingly questions the environmental costs of its meaty dietary habits.

Children in Lyon who were regularly offered such choices as beef and chicken in rich sauces found their meat option missing this week when they returned from school holidays. In its place: a meatless four-course meal that Lyon City Hall says will be quicker and easier to serve to children who, because of the coronavirus pandemic, must be kept apart during lunch to avoid infections.

City Hall insists that the meatless meals are temporary and that school canteens will again offer meat options when social distancing rules are relaxed and children once again have more time to dwell on their food choices and to eat.

And the meat-free menus still contain animal proteins. This week's planned main courses include fish on Monday and Friday and eggs — either as omelettes or hard boiled with a creamy sauce — on other days. Children also get salad starters, a milk product — often cheese or yoghurt — and dessert.

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https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/food-fight-meat-free-school-meals-spark-furor-76069410

[Irish_Dem]

1. The French take their food very very seriously.

[sboatcar]

2. OMG think of the children!

Having to have one meal a day that doesn't contain meat! The HORROR!

[hunter]

3. French school lunches, even without beef or chicken, make ours look pathetic and they are free.

We live in a California community with free school lunches for everyone 17 years old and under. So many people qualify for free lunches that it's simply not worth collecting money from the children who don't qualify. When our children were in school I usually made lunches for them every day but it was nice to know they'd still be fed if they forgot their lunches.

Because of the pandemic our local schools are currently giving out bagged school lunches. There are long lines of cars and pedestrians in front of our schools every day. Many families adversely affected by the pandemic are more dependent on these lunches than ever.

Unfortunately the food served isn't great. Mostly it seems to be a government subsidy for the factory farm meat and dairy industry, a way of getting rid of old cows and chickens by grinding them up into generic meat product.

The French would be appalled.

Unfortunately meat in school lunches can be used as a means of discrimination against Muslim and Jewish students, or even against vegetarian or vegan students.

Here in the U.S.A. the bacon-and-hamburger cult is strong.

It's an echo of the bad old days of the Inquisition or Protestant anti-antisemitism when you hung hams and pork sausages in your window as a demonstration of your Christian faith. Many of those who would not eat pork learned to make Kosher and Halal sausages in secret that looked and smelled like pork to avoid persecution.