Healthy Monday Lunches In Place For London Schoolchildren

For Immediate Release:
1 October 2009

Contact:
Sam Glover 020 7357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

London – As the autumn school term begins, pupils at some London primary and secondary schools will receive tasty, nutritious, environmentally and animal-friendly meals as part of a new cross-curricular global citizenship project called Meat-Free Monday.

Children know that respected celebrities such as Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Richard Branson and Joanna Lumley advocate reducing meat consumption and lowering carbon-dioxide emissions by observing at least one meat-free day a week. All over the world, restaurants, businesses – and even cities such as Ghent, Belgium – are embracing the idea. Now Meat-Free Monday has come to British schools.
 
PETA Foundation has produced two Meat-Free Monday resource packs for teachers. The packs contain activities, assembly ideas, lesson plans and a colour poster. Schools participate by serving nourishing meat-free meals and calculating the impact that their pupils and teachers have on the environment and animals with PETA Foundation’s Meat-Free Monday Calculator.

“Pupils will learn that what they eat can help them be responsible global citizens”, explains PETA Foundation Manager Suzanne Barnard. “By going meat-free once a week at lunchtime and participating in the accompanying lessons and projects, they can see how the choices they make today can affect future generations and help prevent climate change.”

The project addresses four pressing issues – climate change, global poverty, increasing rates of obesity and animal welfare. Pupils will be taught how to choose healthy meals that are rich in fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains. The project has been embraced by a number of schools in London and will now be offered to schools across Britain.

For more information about Meat-free Monday or to order a free education pack, please visit PETAF.org.uk.