If buying a school lunch is part of your usual routine, then you may have noticed that there are very few healthy options, and even less vegetarian options. Although you may not know of many vegetarians/vegans, they are more common than you think, and lunches can present an issue. Most school lunches include some kind of meat with a side of fries and some milk. You can now see why this may pose a problem. Vegetarians can’t get all the nutrients they need by eating everything on the tray but the meat. While in school it is very important to take care of your body and your mind, and one way to do this Is by what you eat. The best way we can get vegans (and anyone else who cares about their health) all the nutrients they need is by providing more healthy and nutritious lunch options.
Instead of selling chips, sodas and ice creams the school could invest that money into healthier food choices, such as fresh vegetables and a variety of nuts and fruits, giving everyone the nutrients they need throughout the day. Although most people don’t believe the vegan diet gives enough protein, nutritionist Dr. Garth Davis says that’s not the case. “There is zero evidence that vegans get too little protein,” Dr. Davis said in response to people accusing vegans of not getting enough protein.
He also adds, “I’m a medical doctor who specializes in diet and has studied nutrition in depth- and I’m not the least bit worried by a vegan diet.”
In fact, vegan diets are actually proven to make people live longer! Another thing that may cause worry is the fact that buying fresh produce can be expensive and hard to keep fresh for long, which takes us back to cutting down on the chips and soda in order to have healthier choices available.
It may be hard, but nevertheless possible to make school lunches healthier and vegan friendly. The promise of healthier students and healthier minds is worth the money and time which would be invested into making a healthy and vegan friendly atmosphere.