31/07/2025
When I met with Lauren from last week to hear more about her petition, I was quite struck when she said,
"If a vegetarian or vegan can say, 'Don't feed my child meat,' you're quite within your rights to say, 'Don't feed my child [ultra-processed alternatives].'"
Now I'm far from a vegetarian myself. We still eat plenty of meat-free meals at home every week. But we always use ACTUAL vegetables.
The point of this petition isn't to have a go at anyone's choices β it's about raising the quality of food that children are fed at schools.
It's important to remember that for a long time Scotland led the way with free school meals, and that it's been a hot topic in the other UK nations in recent years. Nevertheless, there's a massive difference between a vegetable lasagne and a vegetarian lasagne with meat-free "mince".
Now I would defend anybody's right to ask not to be served meat, but why can't we ask for our kids not to be served ultra-processed foods?
This isn't a fight about removing meat from school menus β it's about making sure that they're full of real, quality, nutritious foods. Our kids deserve the best.
Read the full story, and sign the petition on The Chef Stage: https://www.thechefstage.co.uk/articles/the-perthshire-farmer-leading-the-fight-against-ultra-processed-school-meals