Los Angeles Schools Pilot Vegan Lunch Program
The Los Angeles Unified School District recently announced its decision to pilot a vegan meal program this fall with input from the activist group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). Although the name sounds legitimate, PCRM has close ties to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), an animal rights extremist organization notorious for their publicity stunts targeting farmers, says the Animal Agriculture Alliance.
“PCRM hides under the guise of being associated with medical professionals, but they are an animal rights organization with only about eight percent of their membership being actual physicians,” said a letter from the Animal Ag Alliance to Michelle King, Superintendent Los Angeles Unified School District. “In 1985, the group was created by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to be the ‘scientific’ voice of the animal rights movement, spreading misinformation about meat, milk and eggs while promoting veganism. Their intent is to take meat, milk, poultry and eggs off plates across the nation and put our farmers and ranchers out of business.”
It went on to state, “Dr. Neal Barnard, the current “scientific advisor” to PETA has said outlandish statements such as ‘the beef industry has contributed to more American deaths that all the wars of this century, all natural disasters and all automobile accidents combined.’”
Students need healthy lunch options, but suggesting meat not be included in their diets at all puts thousands of students at risk for not getting the calories they need to function effectively – both in the classroom and in extra-curricular activities.
“Allowing PCRM to infiltrate schools to promote veganism not only spreads misinformation about the health benefits of meat, milk, poultry and eggs, but also may deny children access to nutrient-dense food, which is especially harmful to students whose only chance to obtain a hearty, nutritionally balanced meal may be at school,” Hannah Thompson-Weeman with the Animal Agriculture Alliance said.
In the letter, the organization shared information from its Meat Matters campaign, explaining the importance of animal protein in a balanced diet.
