The Education Secretary has expressed concern with schools that have banned meat from their lunch menus, declaring the issue is ‘for families to decide'.
The news comes as parents at Barrowford Primary School in Lancashire were told earlier this month that meat was banned from their children’s canteen and lunch boxes.
The school's Headteacher, Rachel Tomlinson said she had made the decision in order to ‘stop climate change’ and cited the carbon footprint caused by the livestock industry.
In 2019, two schools - Greenhill Park Primary in West London and the Swan School in Oxford – also banned meat from their menus.
The same policy followed in 2020 at Woolwich Polytechnic for Schools, in South East London, which also stopped pupils from bringing in packed lunches.
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Nadhim Zahawi vowed to ‘look closely’ at the issue after the Countryside Alliance sent a letter to the government calling for guidance against ‘agenda-driven policies.’
"I completely agree with the Countryside Alliance: our farmers make an extraordinary contribution to the British countryside and the sustainability of their livestock system.
"It is for families to decide whether meat is part of their child’s diet – not schools," Mr Zahawi said.
"Schools should offer children a balanced, healthy range of food options and there is no reason at all why meat products should not be available to pupils for lunch.
"The vast majority of schools already take this sensible approach and I encourage any outliers to follow their example.’
Earlier this month, Mr Zahawi also revealed a new directive to stop teachers politicising the classroom and ‘promoting contested theories as fact’.
In response, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, Tim Bonner said: "Where schools have implemented a ban on meat, parents have understandably reacted with anger, not least because it seems little to no consultation has taken place.
"The dietary requirements of their children is a matter for them, not the school.
"We need the government to urgently review guidance to stop ideologically driven head teachers from implementing policies which suit their own agenda and in some cases, bias, against those who want their children to eat meat as part of a healthy, balanced diet.
"No one should face discrimination based on their dietary preferences."
