March 28. 2024. 7:22

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EU lawmakers call for more inclusive school canteen options


Products available in school canteens should take into account children’s dietary restrictions such as food intolerances and allergies, which may include plant-based alternatives, lawmakers said – an issue which has proved divisive among stakeholders.

On Tuesday (9 May), MEPs voted in favour of an own-initiative report ahead of the European Commission’s revision of the EU school scheme, expected by the end of 2023 as part of the EU’s flagship food strategy, Farm to Fork.

Launched in 2017, the scheme aims to support the distribution of selected agricultural products to schoolchildren while promoting healthy diets in public canteens. The initiative aims to promote fruits and vegetables, as well as milk and dairy.

The report, led by socialist MEP Carmen Avram, asked to “allocate additional funding
for the procurement of alternative diversified products, within the scope of the scheme in order to ensure its inclusivity” in the case of children with dietary restrictions.

According to Avram, 24% of the pupils interviewed by the European Commission do not have access to this programme because of a lack of alternatives to their dietary restrictions.

For example, as dairy milk is the only option offered in the current scheme, children who are lactose intolerant are at risk of not receiving adequate products in line with their medical condition.

However, the option to include plant-based alternatives in the scheme has sparked a fierce debate between stakeholders.

EU slows down on including plant-based drink in school scheme

Support for including plant-based alternatives to milk in the programme that distributes fresh produce to children in European schools is growing but both the EU executive and lawmakers are still cautious about it.

For Avram, this “doesn’t mean that we adopt a plant-based diet”, she told EURACTIV. “But we must increase the budget so that, from the list of products that have already been approved, these children can also have something.”

However, things like almond ‘drink’, for example, could substitute dairy milk in case of lactose intolerance, since almonds are part of the scheme too, she explained.

Member states ultimately have the final say if they want “to opt for a diversified list of alternatives for children with medical and dietary restrictions, in line with the scope of the scheme”, Avram noted.

As such, the text wants to “reconcile both the need for inclusiveness into the scheme of this category of pupils, and the call to promote locally sourced products”, said the rapporteur.

She added that by not doing so, the possibility for children with dietary restrictions to benefit from the scheme would be put at risk, “which could have been a total lack of political responsibility, which unfortunately some political groups attempted to do.”

The centre-right European People’s Party (EPP), despite ultimately supporting the report, has consistently been critical of plant-based alternatives and has labelled their inclusion as ‘ideology’.

“Some have wanted to change the nature [of the programme] by putting forward plant-based alternatives,” said Italian EPP lawmaker Salvatore de Meo.

“I hope that the European Parliament will support farmers and make sure that we have an ideology-free food education,” he added.

What is an ‘alternative’?

But despite overall political agreement on the report, the ambiguity of the ‘alternatives’ has not convinced animal rights groups.

According to the campaigning group Compassion in World Farming EU (CIWF), the Parliament’s call to subsidise “alternative diversified products” could be interpreted as lactose-free milk.

“This will not help children who are avoiding dairy milk for environmental, ethical, cultural, religious other medical reasons,” said Olga Kikou, head of CIWF EU.

“In light of the climate emergency and societal demands for more ethical and sustainable foods, it is shocking that an ambitious reform of our diets is still considered a taboo in the House representing European citizens,” she added.

By contrast, the European farmers association has welcomed that “MEPs have ensured that plant-based drinks will not enter the scheme despite heavy pressure to do so.”

“To remain credible, this programme had to remain factual and avoid being a gateway to ideology,” the organisation pointed out.

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Commission takes note

In his response, Commissioner for the internal market Thierry Breton welcomed the report and the recognition of “the challenges ahead, notably with regard to the scope of eligible product”.

However, the Commission had curbed expectations on the possibility to include plant-based alternatives in the scheme some time ago.

“Our objective is to have more balanced, nutritious diets. And animal proteins are part of a balanced diet,” Wolfgang Burtscher, director-general of the Commission’s agriculture service DG AGRI, told EURACTIV in November 2022.

However, he also said that the more manoeuvring room you leave to member states, the broader the range of products subject to the school scheme might be.

An evaluation published by the Commission in November showed an increase in the importance of the fruit and vegetables part of the scheme, while there is a decrease in the milk part particularly in some member states – such as France, Italy or Poland.

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