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.

You're setting a terrible example for your child. What a narrow world view and diet you must be giving them for them to never have had a veggie meal at home 🤨 Just let them go without projecting your own feelings about veggie food onto them, they might even enjoy it.

I am vegetarian and none of the food I eat is fake meat or processed.

A vegetarian diet is no more likely to contain crappy UPF than an omnivore diet. Most so-called kids' food is upf crap (e.g. nuggets, sausages etc).

Im wondering why some people are thinking that a centre focused on sustainability would serve up fake meat or that food would be joyless slop.

Im not veggie, my best friend is. She is the best and most inventive cook I know. We stay with them every year for a week. I don't even notice the absence of meat, even my very carnivore strapping 21 year old son doesn't.

Are you SURE you don't understand? Quite sure you're not just trying to be goady? Because it's pretty bloody obvious.

Vegetarians cannot eat meat for ethical reasons, similar to how Jews and Muslims cannot eat pork for religious reasons. It's not a preference in the sense that I, for example, prefer dark chocolate over milk chocolate.

However meat-eaters can and do eat vegetables and other vegetarian products, so it's not actually a problem for a meat-eater to eat a vegetarian meal (I am a meat-eater and frequently eat vegetarian meals).

Ethical, religious and medical dietary needs are more important than whether any individual happens to like or dislike any specific food. Meat-eaters wanting to eat meat does not fall into any of those categories. Nothing untoward will happen if they eat vegetarian food for a week.

If they didn't tell you it was going to be veggie, but sent a dinner menu of, for example, pizza, pasta and pesto, stir fry, macaroni cheese, and curry, naan and rice, would you be bothered?

Because these are all veggie meals that my DC school served as the only option and no one seems to have an issue. Many meals are "accidentally" vegetarian anyway.

Vegan is different, but I expect that only vegan kids will want the vegan options.

Why?
Being vegetarian or vegan is a philosophical belief in the same way that being an omnivore is. As such forcing a child who eats meat and dairy is to be vegan or vegetarian is directly analogous to giving meat to a vegetarian or vegan both are wrong

They will be eating eggs and cheese?

I would very much be encouraging my child to go on this trip. I think the food sounds great and the idea that you need meat in every single meal is so outdated. But I would also be encouraging them to go on this because the price of food is so expensive.

There was a thread the other day about how expensive the price of mince is. More and more people are adapting meat free meals because they have to. We eat largely veggie (none of that fake meat stuff) and it tastes great. Instilling into your child that they have to eat meat at every meal isn’t helping them. What happens if they go to a friends house and they serve them a lentil curry? What happens in the future if the prices of meat keep rising and you can’t afford it? Your child won’t want to eat vegetarian food because you’ve made such a big deal out of it! The way we’re going as a society a large portion of us will be eating the majority of our meals meat free because we can’t afford to eat anything else! At the least I would consider this a learning experience for my child.

Being a vegetarian is a belief.

Eating an apple doesn't make you vegetarian or vegan

Not veggie but I’d be fine with this as long as the quality of the food was good. I imagine it keeps the cost down, is more sustainable, and encouraging people to eat less meat is a good thing.

I know, saying that makes the OP sound a bit thick really.

I'd have been concerned if my DS2 had been going on such a trip but only because he is allergic to most vegetarian sources of protein so it's actually pretty difficult to provide a balanced diet for him without meat. It wouldn't be ideal, especially if they were doing a lot of exercise, but a week of baked potatoes and pasta wouldn't kill him. But cross contamination might. Obviously that's always a risk, but veggie and vegan food contains most of his major allergens so I'd be more anxious both regarding the nutritional quality of his food and its safety given it would be prepared in a kitchen likely to be using large quantities of the ingredients that could harm him. I would have needed a lot of reassurance and if that hadn't been forthcoming I would have kept him at home.
But I would have been fine with my other kids going. Assuming there are no significant allergies or other dietary requirements a diet without meat is perfectly nutritious and most of us would probably benefit from eating less meat anyway. And it is in no way equivalent to forcing a vegetarian to eat meat for a week.

My son went on a bog standard PGL residential trip, and he said the food was awful. Small portions and not very warm either. My son isn't a fussy eater at all, he'll eat most food types. However, he dislikes pulses and any 'meat alternative' like Quorn. He loves vegetables, but I know he wouldn't have liked eating purely vegetarian/vegan food all week. Would he have done so, of course, there wouldn't be another option. Personally, I'd send your child without telling them, and see how they get on!! If the food is decent quality and plentiful, then it might make a difference. The only other alternative is not to send them on the trip. I don't think complaining about the venue will do much good to be honest, it's been chosen and that's it. By all means, say perhaps it should have been discussed with parents prior to booking.

It's different because vegetarian/vegans will often have an ethical objection to eating meat. Meat eaters generally do not have an ethical objection to eating veggies only/not eating meat for a few days. But I'm sure you know this.

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.

Because your child presumably does not follow a carnivorous diet with absolutely no plant-based foods at all. If your child is an omnivore, as the vast majority of humans are, they ARE catering for all three dietary preferences.

My DD went on a veggie camp many years ago as the teachers chaperoning the trip were all vegetarians. None of the children came home malnourished and they learnt about different foods/philosophies on diets. Quite fascinating, especially as this was before vegetarism and veganism was mainstream. Ironically DD's now partner is a Vegan!

Being an omnivore is not a protected characteristic. You could argue that pretty much anything is a philosophical belief, it doesn’t mean you have to cater to it. Redpillers, incels arguably all have a philosophical belief but it doesn’t mean anything.

Veganism is protected under the equality act as a philosophical belief so not the same.

It’s not a case of sucking it up! The food won’t be inferior, quite the opposite!
It’s 2025, eating meat is not a daily expectation and hasn’t been for a long time. Don’t embarrass your kid by complaining!

But please could you articulate why you think it is different and OK to treat them differently.

It's okay to treat them differently because they’re different. As for why they’re different, I refuse to believe you need someone else to “articulate” this for you.

Vegetarians don't only eat vegetables, as I'm sure you know. It will be protein as well. Meat eaters can eat eggs, cheese etc. Vegetarians can't eat meat. Not a valid comparison

Anyone else thinking back to the news stories, accompanied by sad faced photos, of parents shoving fish and chips through school fences when the schools tried to introduce healthier menus.
OP no doubt would have been squarely on the side of those parents.
Moral questions aside purely on a cost basis having all vegetarian food is going to reduce costs as supposed to having to have a meat option and a vegetarian option every meal time. These trips tend to be pricey and a lower cost is going to make them more accessible to kids from low income families, who may or may not eat meat normally.
if it bothers you that much just withdraw your child from the trip and let them miss out just so you can prove a point.

A plant-based diet is to much healthier than a meat-based one. It will do your DC good to eat healthy food for a change.

I expect the school chose the venue for other practical reasons rather than because it is vegetarian. Might have been all that was available in the price range for the dates that suited.

Don’t worry OP, I’m sure you can take your DC for a McDonalds or a kebab on the way home from the school trip, he will be starving after a week of only eating lettuce!

I guess you can send them with a bag of pepperamis and beef jerky! Or tins of corned beef?