Context
On June 11, 2014, the University of Oxford published a study on the impact of different diets on greenhouse gas emissions. Result: for the same number of calories (2000 for this study) a vegetarian diet emits 2.5 times less greenhouse gas than a person eating for a person eating over 100 g of meat a day.
In 2018, according to a BVA poll commissioned by Greenpeace, 6 out of 10 French people were in favor of the idea of introducing a vegetarian menu in school canteens, and more than half of the schoolchildren’s parents supported the idea.
Grated carrots with cumin as a starter, soy balls in tomato sauce accompanied by their cereal mixture then cheese and fruit compote for dessert. A menu from the small vegetarian restaurant in the area? No - just the children's meal in the city of Grenoble on Monday January 13, 2020.
Project
Since November 2017, Grenoble, a city of 160,000 inhabitants with 11,000 children in its primary establishments, has offered one or two meatless meals in school canteens every week.
Today, following the EGalim law, the obligation is imposed across the region, but the "capital of the Alps" remains a pioneer in the field.
Operation
For more than 3 years, the city has offered between 1 and 2 vegetarian meals a week in primary schools. In order to ensure nutritional balance and avoid any nutritional deficiencies, the menus are developed with the help of a dietician. In the kitchen, we had to adapt, change mentalities. At the technical level, certain vegetarian dishes require different cooking methods and new seasonings.
Results
The city, which spends more than 3 million euros a year on cooking meals, saves money thanks to vegetarian menus allowing it to buy more local products and products from organic farming. On the price side, the menus cost less than 0,80€ for the less well-off families.
And what do children think about it?
"Sometimes we say ‘I don't like it’ but in the end we like it". In the canteen, children are encouraged to taste the food and some make great discoveries. This is the case of this mother reporting her son's sudden interest in radishes " they can even replace crisps ...". (Extract from the France 2 report on the subject).To find the full report of France 2, click here.
The Little Extra
Since January 2019, the City of Grenoble has participated in the international "Green Monday" approach, which consists of not offering children a meat menu on Mondays. With the Egalim law, cities must offer these vegetarian menus over a test period of 2 years. In Grenoble, these menus have already been on the program for three years and the test seems to have gone well.
Written by Thomé Orenga, LFC volunteer - March 2020.
Last modification : 07 May 2020.
City of Grenoble
Grenoble, a city of 160,000 inhabitants welcoming 11,000 children in its primary establishments has imposed since November 2017 one or two meatless meals in school canteens every week.