Recent weeks have seen two victories that should roll back years of deteriorating standards and ensure a healthy food environment for children across the country.
On 19 May, Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced new minimum nutrition standards that will be effective from September 2006. The first unhealthy victims are meals high in low-quality meats, salt, fat and sugar. Vending machines and tuck shops are also being given the boot. Meanwhile, the Nottingham-based Veggies Catering Campaign - historic suppliers of fine vegan food to the British protest movement - has just won a year-long contract to provide all the meals for Glapton Primary School. From 5 June 2006, around 300 children, aged between five and eleven, will be able to choose food that contains no animal products. There is a major “but”, unfortunately. The recently announced new school food standards require meat in school dinners, so discussions are now taking place to allow Veggies to provide nutritional equivalents.