Rachel- Cafeteria Meals

Much of America's youth is slowly becoming vegetarian. Why
shouldn't the school systems support these healthy choices?
Vegetarian options should be offered in the cafeteria for several
reasons. First of all, there is evidence to show that a vegetarian
diet is actually a healthier one. Another reason is that other school
systems do offer choices to full fill the needs of their students.
Finally, many students choose to follow the vegan diet, vegetarian
diet, cannot eat specific meats due to religion, or are simply trying
to eat healthier.

Based on the 1990 census by This US Census Bureau, an
estimation of about one million school age children are
vegetarian. (http://www.vrg.org) Vegetarian diets are often
thought to be unhealthy because meat is an important part
of a healthy diet. Meat supports your health with protein,
a nutrient that is hard to substitute. Also, meat supplements
such as veggie burgers may not taste as good as a real
hamburger to many students. On the other hand, many
students assume that a vegetarian diet is a healthier one,
and despite the flavor of soy products and meat substitutes,
choose to eat them anyway. As it turns out, a vegetarian diet
really is a healthier one. There is evidence to show that
following even a strict vegan diet can be healthier than an
omnivorous diet. When substituted with nutritionally appropriate
foods, a vegetarian diet can prevent deadly diseases and other
health problems such as heart disease, some cancers, high blood
pressure, and type 2 diabetes. It can even help students to live a
longer life. However, this diet will not prevent any of these things
and may even cause serious health issues without being properly
full filled. (http://www.eufic.org) With the majority of 7-2 buying

school lunch, and nearly one third of the team not being allowed to eat certain meats, this means that without the proper choices being offered in the cafeteria, Hammond students could face serious health problems.

Another supporting reason of offering vegetarian choices is the
fact that other school systems in Virginia offer multiple things
for students to choose from, including meals without meat.
Middle school lunch menus were available on the websites of
Richmond Public Schools (http://www.richmond.k12.va.us)
and Fairfax County Public Schools
(http://www.fcps.edu/index.shtml) In Fairfax County, choices
such as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and yogurt with
pretzels are offered daily. Other choices include applesauce,
chilled fruits, lettuce/tomato/pickle "mini" salads, tossed
salad, and vegetables with dip. Richmond schools offer
peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, applesauce, mixed
vegetables, side salads, and fruits. Here at Hammond,
excessively greasy pizza and french fries seem to be the only
choices every day. If the meal is something else, such as
mozzarella sticks, quesadilla, or burritos, they always seem
to come with a side of french fries. Almost all cafeteria meals
also include meat, making it incredibly hard for students with
strict diets.

Finally, students come to school five days each week meaning
that for most students, five of their weekly meals, if not more,
such as breakfast, come from the school. Alexandria, being a
Washington D.C. suburb, has people from all over the world
with different religions and beliefs. In many of these religions,
specific meats are forbidden. For example, pork is not to be
eaten by anyone following the Muslim or Jewish religion.
Many students in our own school are of the Muslim or
Jewish religion, among a variety of others. For some
students, it is difficult to eat in the cafeteria when
pepperoni pizza, hot dogs, or any other pork product is
served. Besides religion, other students choose not to eat
meats for various reasons. An alternative meal excluding
meat should be offered for these students.

For these reasons, and possibly more, healthier meals
without meat should be served in our school cafeteria.
More than half of 7-2 would like these vegetarian choices
offered. The support of student's choices and needs should be
full filled. The health of students should be a concern of the
school system. Cafeteria menus need to be changed for the
sake of students.