Parents have criticised a school’s decision to ditch meat at dinner times and only offer up vegetarian meals, while those who bring in packed lunches are also urged to go meat-free.
Barrowford Primary School near Nelson, Lancashire, implemented the meat-free rule more than a year ago and say no parents have yet made a formal complaint.
However, according to the Sun, several parents have blasted the decision, with one mum saying she’s ‘fuming’ after her daughter was served a veggie sausage.
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One mum told the newspaper: "It is a joke. I'm looking to move mine as I've had enough of that school.
"I think they forget that non-meat eaters and vegans have to take a lot of supplements. What supplements do they get instead at that school?
"Nothing, probably saving on food costs."
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She also claims that she only found out about the rule change via email last week, despite the change being made more than a year ago.
The mum said her daughter ordered sausage and mash, but didn’t like the taste of the banger, prompting a teacher to explain it was a vegetarian sausage.
"She ended up just having mash for her dinner,” the mum said. “I'm fuming. She's been on packed lunches since."
Another person questioned why the school could not include vegetarian and vegan options as well as meat-versions and said it was ‘absolutely ludicrous’ to request that packed lunches be meat-free, too.
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However, not all parents hate the idea, as one said: "I am not vegetarian and I think the lunch choices are great.
"If people are upset they have the option to send a packed lunch if they wish, nothing is forced."
And another said the menu sounds ‘fantastic’ and was 'nothing to moan about'.
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In a letter sent home to parents last week, headteacher Rachel Tomlinson said the decision had been made in an effort to curb climate change, pointing out the ‘huge environmental cost’ of the meat and dairy industry.
In a statement to the Sun, Tomlinson said: "We made our school lunches meat-free over a year ago, and while we have not received any complaints from parents, I'm happy to discuss it with anyone who has any queries.
"Our children learn about the principles of sustainable development as part of the national curriculum, and are really interested in how they can contribute to better looking after our environment.
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"We made our school lunches meat-free to demonstrate how each of us making a small change to our daily habits can have a much wider positive impact, and that reducing meat consumption is just one way to do this.
"We have been careful to approach this in a balanced way, and teach that it is fine to eat meat, but that reducing our consumption can help our planet."
Claire Reid