Would You Send Your Kid to a Vegan School?
Is this what the inside of your kid's lunchbox looks like? Photo credit: StockFood / Stacy Ventura
It’s the rare kid who doesn’t go bananas for a hot dog or a plate of mac ‘n cheese. And although the nation at large has witnessed a downturn in such offerings on cafeteria menus, one private school—in California, surprise, surprise—is going whole-hog vegan.
"Titanic" director James Cameron and wife Suzy Amis Cameron are the two of the philanthropists who donate to MUSE School Ca, private elementary and middle schools that emphasize “preserving the environment and building community.” The Camerons have been vegan since 2012 because they’re ”appalled by all of the water and grain it takes to produce meat and dairy, and all of the greenhouse gas emissions, waste and pollution that production generates.” As Amis Cameron tells NPR, "You can’t really call yourself an environmentalist if you’re still consuming animals. You just can’t.”
Within a year and a half, the school will serve solely plant-based foods. Amis Cameron, who has spearheaded the couple’s philanthropic efforts at the schools, sees her efforts as dovetailing nicely with her husband’s film “Avatar,” which had a decidedly environmentally conscious angle.
That said, Amis Cameron has been meeting some resistance from parents, and we wonder if, given the choice, parents would send their children to an entirely meat- and dairy-free school. What, really, is the demand for schools with cafeteria menus catering exclusively to specialty diets? In 2012, only 26 percent of families were regularly buying organic food, and in 2012, only 2% of us were calling ourselves vegans. Presumably even a smaller percent of children are 100% vegan.
[via NPR The Salt]
