School residential vegetarian/vegan only

[vgp1234]

My child had really been looking forward to their year 6 residential, but a new head has joined and had changed the format somewhat.

They have now booked a Sustainability Centre in Hampshire, which only caters for vegetarians and vegans. My child is not a vegetarian or vegan, and across the cohort of year 5 and 6 only one child is vegetarian.

While I appreciate that there is a view that they can go 5 days without meat and they should just suck it up, I find it incredibly frustrating that you would not ask a vegetarian or vegan child to suck it up and eat meat for 5 days. So I don't understand why we do not treat both dietary preferences with equal measure.

The new head is very keen on government guidance, and has changed our lunch menu to comply with the current guidance for school lunches which is that 3 days should include meat or fish (previously we had a meat and vegetarian/vegan option every day). However it seems this guidance only applies on the school site, so you can disregard it at a residential. While they are within their rights to do this, it does seem like quite a contradiction.

I have tried speaking to the Sustainability centre directly but they were very inflexible and just stated it is a against their ethos (may I add that they also offer a day trip at a cost to visit a working farm, who rear animals for meat, so their ethos does not run all that deep). This really goes against my ethos as not only do I think you should treat all groups equally, I can't help but feel that this is forcing their ideas on children verses allowing them free choice and the ability to hear both viewpoints (meat is unsustainable/sustainable) and make their own decision.

In all honesty I'm quite perplexed as to why the school choose the venue when it would clearly be controversial, as this is quite a personal choice for parents and the cohort has so few in it that have this dietary preference.

I'm sure some people will not agree with me, and I am open to your opinions as I'm a big believer in hearing both sides of the argument and our ability to think critically for ourselves and not be told what to think (I want this for my child too).

I do plan to send the school an email initially and request that they provide a rounded menu including meat. But I'd really appreciate any advice on how to word this appropriately as I'm quite upset by it, and I'd prefer to send a well worded email than an emotional one.

Just send him in with a couple of packets of ham.

Or he could wear Lady Gaga's meat dress?

My kids are meat eaters but I honestly don’t honk they would even notice if I didn’t serve them meat for a week.

That you should not in large quantities of to reduce cancer risk

I wouldn’t be sending my DC. I wouldn’t like it so wouldn’t put my child through it.

@VickyEadieofThigh exposure to a wider range of foods or dishes I agree is very good but this is not only achieved by vegetarianism/veganism.

I remember going on a school residential to a place that only served vegan food in the 80s. While the food was very strange and different to anything we were used to I don't remember anyone kicking up a fuss about it. We were used to just eating what we were served or not eating. No wonder we were thinner than today.

While I think it won't kill the DC not to have meat for 5 days, I don't think you're being unreasonable.

Mainly because most of the mass-produced catering style vegetarian & vegan food I've come across is actually far less healthy than good old meat & 2 vegetables. Vegan food particularly in mass production or catering situations is generally ultra processed crap.

If their school lunches & the catering for the residential are cooked from scratch, using whole ingredients, without meat substitutes, that's another matter. But Quorn "sausages" and indistinguishable beige vegan food are far less healthy (or sustainable) than a chicken breast or a fillet of white fish.

Just into a frog @HeadNorth well you were the lucky one!
I was once served a vegan lunch and as I walked away from the table my body disintegrated because there was no meat to hold it together.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that vegetarianism/veganism is the only way of achieving that at all, merely that exposing your kids to different types of cuisine (including vegetarian/vegan) is generally good for them.

Unrefrigerated ham, with a side order of food poisoning - far better than veggie food any day!

Why do you think that is happening?
Lack of iron?

There are some people who cannot absorb non haem iron and therefore need to eat meat to get the benefit. Maybe you are one.

Mass catering in these places that involves meat is more likely to serve the children things like chicken nuggets, hot dogs and fish fingers than whole chicken breasts and sea bass fillets.

You're right that some places have no idea how to cook vegetarian food and fall back on ultra-processed meat substitutes for convenience. But that only tends to happen in kitchens where meat is centred. In a fully vegetarian establishment, I would be extremely surprised if they showed so little imagination.

Because eating meat is a dietary preference

Not eating meat is an ethical preference

Please stop pretending you don't understand the difference, you're just being a goady fucker

@BeHappySloth

My point is that veganism/vegetarianism should not be imposed on anyone. I am a meat eater as are my kids, and I am
more than capable of exposing them to different kinds of foods myself.

I dont need veganism/vegetarianism to be imposed on me under the guise of making my palate more sophisticated.

I think school trips should not be the forum for very specific ideologies.

I do appreciate that OP is free to decline the trip.

I also freely admit my kids would be fine on such a trip.

I am gently objecting to the slightly superior tone in posts imply that eating vegan / vegetarian food will guarantee exposure / sophistication.

Yabvu. The whole point of the sustainability centre is to teach about sustainability and part of being sustainable is eating less meat.

He can eat other food but it is limited and it's also important that he eats due to his limited diet. He's under a dietician.

Cereal would depend on the type, only things like rice krispies and coco pops.
He can only eat white bread too and would accept cheese but probably wouldn't eat as much as he would with ham.

'wouldn't put my child though it' they aren't being held in a dungeon while being force fed broccoli you know 😂

Meat free is part of the sustainability ethos, perhaps they want to show the children that they can have a tasty and varied diet without meat. I don't think they are discriminating against meat eaters, more just practising what they preach.

'Your beef is with the school.' Marvellous 😊

But nobody is imposing vegetarianism or veganism on you or your kids?

We are talking about 5 days at a venue which happens not to serve meat or fish. If your kids went on a residential trip to a venue that didn't cook pasta, would you feel equally aggrieved that a pasta-free diet was being imposed on them for a few days?

Is the real issue that you think the kids shouldn't be learning about sustainability? Or are you afraid that they might come home and want to become vegetarian?

I'm trying to understand it but I genuinely don't get it.

I have no words.

What a pathetic and ignorant post.

Thing is I don’t see having a few days with no meat and having vegetarianism “imposed” on you - because a vegetarian diet is a subset of a standard British diet - egg and chips, beans on toast , quiche, pasta pesto, lentil soup … healthy, cheap quick and easy to cook meals

and like any standard British food it can be cooked well or poorly

In what way could this trip be detrimental to your child?