The vegan choice also in the canteen

Vegan school canteen in Turin

From the Corriere della Sera blog the news that one day a month in Turin school canteens will be served only and exclusively dishes based on vegetables and cereals, 100% vegetable, vegan menu with the only option grated parmesan for the first courses.

A choice that says no to meat proteins that carried out in the canteens of children, or public nursery schools, which will come into force after the current summer.

Other original menus will have been studied at the table, offering twice a month recipes of Italian regional traditions and more imaginative varieties of vegetables and cereals.

The decision to carry out this change stems from the mayor idea Appendino, the Turin fair as the most vegan-friendly city in Europe (source: The Independent), is supported and pursued by an administration that is particularly careful to carry out educational programs related to food.

A beginning of change that can then lead to the introduction of even more varied menus, a first step to make known in the future also recipes that come from all over the world.

Mensa vegan, Italians don't like it

Whether or not this new attempt to improve and make healthy the diet of growing young Italians will succeed, it will only be time to say so.

What is certain is that the past attempts to introduce more vegetables into the world of the school refectory have been little appreciated: remember the failed attempt to introduce the vegan menu in Milan on October 1, 2013, thanks to the collaboration with the vegan chef Pietro Leeman, and the weak Florentine proposal fell on the sidelines after the parental uprising.

But there are those who do not give up and the proposals for changes and improvements are always around the corner : in fact this year also the news that the certified organic canteens will arrive in Italy (Corriere.it).

In fact, Italy, a country where food and healthy eating have always represented an added value, when it comes to school meals, fact-finding inquiries about what our children eat and proposals on canteen packages. disperses in a labyrinth of catering, tariffs and innovative proposals, without at times achieving desired results.

The veg option in the world

Whether vegan or vegetarian, the possibility of giving another option in schools, to those who wish, seems a sign of civilization and respect. As well as proposing and making known dishes that come from various corners of the world, or even just typical products of the earth, such as fruit or vegetables other than conventional ones.

Food education starts from the table at home, but also from the collective canteens, where confrontation teaches and passes on respect for others and openness to the different as a fundamental value, a value that now more than ever can not be ignored.

In a world that is changing, there are therefore countries, such as Portugal, which offer vegan food also in prisons and hospitals, as well as in schools; while in the United States there are some universities, as illustrated by the Vegan report card, which love and welcome the choice of a vegan menu, and others do not.

While in Germany the proposal of a veg day a week in the school canteen seems to be successful, France praises and tends to imitate those who, like Sweden, do not serve refined sugars, ice creams, pastries or sugary drinks on the trays of children.

For the little friends of Japan, the canteen of the young Japanese is not just food to eat, but awareness, order, cleanliness and many new things to learn: here is an interesting video with the emblematic title "School lunch in Japan - It's not just about eating ! ”Which shows us the typical meal of a primary school, with lots of mashed potatoes coming from the school garden itself, served, like all the rest of the food, by the children themselves!