Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams and New York City Council
members Fernando Cabrera of the Bronx, Helen Rosenthal of Manhattan, and Justin
Brannan of Brooklyn have introduced a resolution urging the Department of
Education to remove
processed foods, including meats, from public school meals.
Leading the resolution, Adams knows firsthand the impact of
one’s diet. He went
vegan after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Within a year he had lost
30 pounds and reversed his diabetes.
After reading studies from the World Health Organization
that labeled processed meats a carcinogen, placing
them in the same category of cancer risk as asbestos and cigarettes, Adams became deeply concerned about the
health of students. He says, “If we want to change the culture of bad food, we
need to rethink the way we feed our kids in the schools.
According to the WHO, processed meats are linked to 34,000
cancer deaths per year worldwide. Additionally, meat consumption increases one’s risk of diabetes, stroke,
heart disease, obesity, Alzheimer’s, and an overall shorter lifespan.
The U.S. government
banned many uses of asbestos over 30 years ago because we knew it was
dangerous, yet schools serve our young people bacon, hot dogs, ham, and bologna—processed
meats known to be just as hazardous.
But meat isn’t just
bad for our health; it’s also unspeakably cruel. Farmed animals are treated like unfeeling
objects, and their short lives are marked by unimaginable abuses: intensive
confinement, agonizing mutilations, and violent deaths.
A Mercy For Animals undercover
investigation at a farm that supplies Hormel, one of America’s largest bacon
and deli meat producers, revealed mother pigs confined to filthy metal crates,
workers ripping out the testicles and cutting off the tails of baby pigs
without any pain relief, and sick and injured piglets suffering from untreated
injuries and illnesses.
Watch.
Swapping processed
meats for healthy plant-based foods would not only help teach students about
nutrition and improve their health but spare countless animals a life of misery
at factory farms.
Last year all 1,800
public schools in New York City
started to offer at least one vegan option and Los Angeles Unified
School District rolled out a vegan pilot program to offer more plant-based lunch options
to students at no additional cost. These shifts toward plant-based school
lunches are shaping the way future generations will eat.
Ready to join this
growing movement? Click here to get started. And check out our Pinterest page for
thousands of recipe ideas!