Enacted in 2018the EGalim law requires public and private schools, from kindergarten to high school, to offer a vegetarian menu at least once a week to students, and this since November 1, 2019.
The vegetarian menu: the legal framework
" Art. L. 230-5-6. : On an experimental basis, no later than one year after the promulgation of Law No. 2018-938 of October 30, 2018, for the balance of commercial relations in the agricultural and food sector and a healthy, sustainable and accessible food for all, for a period of two years, managers, public or private, of collective catering services school catering are required to offer a vegetarian menu at least once a week. This menu may be composed of animal or vegetable proteins." (source)
Although the law refers to an "experimental" period, the vegetarian menu is mandatory during this time.
The vegetarian offer in the canteen, instructions for use
The vegetarian menu can be offered more than once a week if the establishment wishes. It can be a single menu or an alternative option.
Vegetarian does not mean vegan, since vegetable proteins can be combined with products such as milk, its derivatives or eggs. Only dishes that use only vegetable proteins (cereals, legumes, etc.) are qualified as vegan.
Whatever the approach, this menu contributes to the promotion of plant proteins in collective catering (see the National Food Program on this point).
Several arguments have been put forward to promote this vegetarian offer in the canteen, among which:
- Overconsumption: children consume between 2 and 4 times their protein needs... at breakfast alone!
- The environmental issue: nearly 80,000 tons of meat are served to students each year, which is an important ecological issue;
- The educational dimension and the evolution of food behaviors: diversity in the plate goes through the school, with 12 million students concerned and a sector that represents 3.5 billion meals per year;
- The fight against waste: vegetarian meals are less wasteful (source)
source: Greenpeace
One year later, where do we stand?
Greenpeace has just to publish a precise investigationwhich has been widely reported in the specialized press as well as in the more "general public" press.
There are some particularly interesting figures and data. But before we present the most salient ones, here's already the takeaway: "it's getting better!"
"74% of schoolchildren have the opportunity to eat vegetarian food every week", whereas two years ago, "69% of primary school pupils had no choice but to eat meat every day or almost every day in their canteen" (compared to 6% today).
Another promising finding: the quality of the vegetarian menus offered has improved. "Previously, a majority of omelettes were served, but today we see a diversification of menus with more than half of them composed of vegetable proteins (lentil-coconut dhal, vegetarian couscous...)".
In summary: from a quantitative and qualitative point of view, France is on the right track in this area.
On the other hand, strong disparities appear when reading the results of the survey. You can consult the data for your region here.
Thus :
- Smaller cities (less than 100 elementary school students) are less likely to enforce the law: only 53% of them do so, compared to 81% of larger cities;
- Similarly, the French overseas departments and territories are less compliant with the obligations of the EGalim law
- secondary schools are not good students, since less than 2/3 of the establishments play the game, with menus that are relatively undiversified
Note about the study:"5,387 vegetarian menus in kindergartens and elementary schools were screened in a total of 2,820 cities. They concern approximately 3.8 million schoolchildren. The menus of 415 middle schools and 493 high schools were analyzed. This represents nearly 8% of middle schools and nearly 20% of public high schools in the country.
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