UK Children's Parliament Members Speak Out In Favor Of Plant-Based School Meals

UK Children’s Parliament members stressed the importance of sustainable plant-based school meals at an event for London Climate Action Week last week.

Harry Acheampong, the 12-year-old Youth Prime Minister, and Clarke Dearson, the 11-year-old Incoming Prime Minister, spoke with BOSH! founders Henry Firth and Ian Theasby at Ladbroke Hall, Notting Hill, for a talk titled “Plants, Glorious Plants.”

“We all need to think about incorporating more plant-based meals into our diets,” said Acheampong, as reported by the Daily Express. Dearson seconded this, adding: “All schools should embrace the inclusion of plant-based ingredients in their menus.”

London Climate Action Week’s “Extreme Hangout” – a sustainability impact platform created to help popularize the climate movement and inspire young people – hosted the talk.

Members of the UK's Children's Parliament with plant-based recipe developers BOSH! — Children's Parliament The panel discussion on plant-based food took place at a London event last week

Meanwhile, the UK Children’s Parliament also aims to empower young voices by giving children a platform and fostering discussions on pressing issues like the climate crisis, food system sustainability, and health, including how these issues intersect with school dinners.

School meals should include ‘healthy, planet-friendly food’

Both the incumbent and the incoming prime minister expressed support for ProVeg’s School Plates program, for which the outspoken British naturalist Chris Packham is an advocate.

“Providing quality school meals that nourish young minds and bodies is of the utmost importance,” said Packham, writing for ProVeg earlier this year. “We all know children are the future, and how deeply they care about protecting our planet.”

School Plates currently works with 25 percent of UK authorities responsible for school food, feeding over one million children daily. This is particularly notable within the context of the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and last year The Food Foundation reported that the number of children experiencing food poverty doubled between 2022 and 2023 alone.

“School meals should cater to what these children need – healthy, planet-friendly food that tastes just as good as it looks,” added Packham.