Vegetarian child in France

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My DD (6yo CP) has decided to become a vegetarian (for ethical reasons she is upset at the idea of killing and eating animals. The rest of us eat meat, I know it may not last but she's been veggie for 2 months now so we'll see).

I know there is no veggie option at school cantine so I asked today if she could bring some food from home to supplement what is on offer. The situation seemed to take the head teacher by surprise and she said they had to consult with the authorities that provide the meals - an acronym was mentioned but I didn't catch it.

Does anyone else have a vegetarian child in French school? I was not expecting this to be so complicated!

Gentle bump!

The French often have a terrible attitude to vegetarians, I have noticed when travelling. I guess things might be changing slowly, but it used to be very difficult, lots of cheese and cream and eggs (which we don't normally eat much of).

Just wanted to write to say that your daughter is doing a wonderful thing and you are amazing to give her your support! Good luck-

Are there no other children at the school that have other dietary requirements I wonder, there must be surely.

Not in France but we live in Brasil and have a farm, including beef cattle. 8 year old went veggie at 6 and is still veggie, he hasn't shifted. We don't eat too much meat despite being farmers, but it is doable. He doesn't have lunch at school (not just him) but he has a snack which is usually meat based so they make him a cheese toastie or cheese bread. It might be harder if there are educational standards concerning meals. But surely your child can't be the only veggie in France

Can you not request for religious reasons? I'm not in France but another European country with obligatory school lunches and in most regions a vegetarian diet is provided for, with a proper nutrition guide from the local health authority (not always followed though!).
Most locals who opt for the veggie diet do so because they're concerned about the quality of the meat and fish served in schools rather than actually being veggie.
In other instances the religious card has been used (a sudden conversion to Buddhism!). I know in France they are less inclined to vegetarianism and regard it with suspicion, but surely they do have a religious requirements option? What do the Muslim/Jewish kids do?

I'm in France but don't have vegetarian children. A quick google shows me that it's quite a contentious issue though!

Can you read French? Here's a website created by parents who want a vegetarian menu in schools :

mamancarotte.com/2017/01/19/cantine-parents-eleves-menu-vegetarien/

There's also a link to a facebook page.

Seems like it's a problem for quite a few parents but that the state hasn't come on board yet.

I think it is very complicated sadly. The (very few) veggies I know at school go home for lunch or eat what's on offer in the cantine, including meat. Much easier in college if there's a choice. My DC said it was fine for vegetarians in public college, not so good in privée.

I know college is a long way off for your DD OP!

Melassa ironically efforts to introduce a veggie option in French schools have been squashed on the grounds that religious people would opt for that and schools are secular so do not cater to religious preferences.

I asked the head teacher and she looked at me like I had two heads! Her first response was "But she does eat fish, right?", then she told me DD would get sick without milk/eggs so I think this might be a losing battle!

First indications are the bringing food in to school is unacceptable on hygiene grounds (funnily enough my cakes are not considered a health and safety standard and are scoffed with relish by both teachers and pupils, but my veggie meals would kill everyone within sight).

Thanks AtlanticWaves, I shall join them on FB for a general moan!

Is your canteen run by the school or the commune? If the latter then talk to the mairie rather than the school. We have a couple of kids in our village with special dietary requirements and they are allowed to take their own food in. No vegetarians that I know of though.

Really? We also have laïcité in public schools (in as far as you're allowed to opt out of RE which is entirely catholic catechism and nothing else!) but there is also enshrined the right to express one's religion. Ironically, at one point Milan was going to go entirely vegetarian in the primary schools so as to cover all religious requirements/exclusions and not have to offer different food for different cultural requirements. Actually I don't know what happened to that, it was probably rejected by the region or the meat lobby, or the xenophobic party as there were foreign (read non western) things like falafel on the menu. But I digress!
You could possibly invent an intolerance to animal protein, I think there is a syndrome, but you'd need a compliant medic so it may not work.
I do feel for you, packed lunches are not allowed here either for the same reasons as in France, despite it being decreed admissible by the high court no one actually managed to get it past the schools. There was a protest in a couple of primaries with some mums boycotting the canteen and sending in panini but it fizzled out after the children kept getting segregated in separate rooms.

Sorry! Not much help.

No advice but plenty of sympathy. To the French, a thinly sliced tomato and a dab of pesto is a meal seen fit for a vegetarian. If they really like you, you may get a plate of steamed French beans instead.

I was astonished at the lack of sandwich choices at motorway service stations in France. Every. Single. Sandwich or baguette on offer was either chicken, tuna or the ubiquitous jambon. Not a single meat/fish free sandwich. Oh, maybe once, near the Luxembourg border. That might have been in Luxembourg though.

Eating out can be pretty challenging if you are veggie round here. There are a lot of restaurants but l've never come across one with vegetarian options. If it's something like a pizza place they will have veggie pizzas but expressedly because they are veggie if you see what I mean. I've had restaurants where we've booked weeks in advance and requested a veggie option serve us the meat dish without the meat - disgraceful really.

How strange! I would never have thought that this would be a problem!

What are the typical meat meals that they serve? Is the meat easy to avoid?

Can't comment on the actual question but

1. I have been veggie since 7 - none of my family are - so it could stick

2. France is by far the worst place I have ever travelled as a veggie. OK, it was harder in a practical sense to get veggie food in Outer Mongolia, but even that didn't compare to the sheer vindictiveness of the French against vegetarians. Someone once explained to me that it's part of a larger cultural thing that the cook assembles the meal, wine etc and you are disrespecting their creation if you don't have it as they intended??

I once had a lengthy explanation from a French colleague about how it wasn't that surprising I didn't 'like' meat as it was not well cooked in England (!) but that if I followed a rehabilitation programme (starting with veal IIRC?!) I could be gradually reintroduced to civilized eating. I was trying to be diplomatic until another colleague launched in and asked her if she had a similar plan for reintroducing him to heterosexuality!! Seriously, it was unprovoked, I don't mind what other people eat and would never bring up the topic.

That's really sad op, I thought France might have modernised on the veggie front. Years ago when I was a child, I was veggie (it did last until I was 18). Every restaurant we went to I got an omelette, we were travelling around France for 4 weeks. That 30 years ago and I still can't look at another omelette. It's sad that not much has changed.
Looks like you will join the small voices of change though. Good luck!

Ha yes! Either omelette or going to a creperie for their one cheese option.

When I holiday in France I always go self catering. I find searching for restaurants with vegetarian options exhausting, even the ones that say végétariens bienvenus often haven't fully understood that ham and fish are not part of a vegetarian diet. We often end up eating at non French restaurants (Lebanese, Greek, Thai etc.) which annoys me as I like a lot of French food and would like to eat local. If I'm determined to eat somewhere I'll ring up the restaurant beforehand and see if they're willing to make me something off menu. What a palaver though! At least in Italy I can eat anywhere and they will always try to make you something off menu if the non meat choices are crap.

France is terrible for vegetarians, as a PP said it's difficult to even get a sandwich or salad without ham or chicken in it! And people who find out you're veggie ask questions like you're on some kind of Martian diet.

It is getting better, you can find veggie food in supermarkets now which you couldn't a couple of years ago.

My DDs weren't supposed to eat meat for religious reasons, but they kept getting served grated carrot / celery (and only that!) at the cantine. It wasn't a battle I was prepared to take on, so they eat meat now.

Update: I spoke with the lady who sorts out the cantine at school and she thinks the best solution would be for DD to eat around the meat. In other circumstances I would think this to be pretty appealing but having read up on the situation inf France it may be the best that can be achieved at the moment. DD will come home for lunch most days anyway and will only have the odd meal at school.

Thank you for all your experiences!

Appalling not appealing!!!

I've only just seen this but what a nightmare. I had a hard time visiting France because of this.

if they are eating your home made cake they cannot make any argument against you sending with her a packed lunch.

When we lived in France, my son was one of 3 at his maternelle/primaire with a serious food allergy. The canteen staff were very accommodating and we were allowed to prepare a hot lunch at home and send it in, which they collected from the secretary, stored in the fridge and heated up at lunchtime. We had to sign a disclaimer form which said we would be responsible if he got food poisoning.

I later discovered that the other allergy parents had tried several schools before finding this one, as the other schools refused to accommodate their children - so I guess we were very lucky.

But maybe you could ask if it's possible to sign a disclaimer so that your child can take sandwiches?

Weta glad you found a good school! It's a much more serious issue if your DC has an allergy. My understanding of the system is that allergies are now accommodated as long as the child has a medical certificate, but my DD can eat meat, she just doesn't think she should so the medical route is jot an option for us.