Spain passes law requiring plant-based meals to be served in schools

Food awareness organisation ProVeg International has welcomed legislation that ensures students can access 100 per cent plant-based menus in Spanish schools. Where the school cannot provide this, the legislation requires that the school offers the necessary means to refrigerate and heat plant-based meals that students bring from home.

The changes were enacted by the Spanish Council of Ministers in late April under the Royal Decree on Healthy and Sustainable School Cafeterias, an initiative that aims to transform school food throughout the country.

The decree, which will affect public, state-subsidised and private schools, aims to ensure that all students have access to a nutritious, varied diet aligned with official health recommendations.

“We welcome the passing of this Royal Decree, which finally recognises the right of families to have a 100 per cent plant-based menu in school canteens or at least measures to solve its absence,” Verónica Larco, senior communications manager at ProVeg Spain, said.

“We will be watching closely how its adoption is managed at the regional level and the way in which each school applies it.”

The decree also aims to guarantee a greater overall consumption of legumes, setting weekly amounts in line with the recommendations of scientific and health bodies such as AESAN (Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition) and the WHO (World Health Organisation).

AESAN, in its latest update, recommends eating two to four servings of legumes a week, adding in its report that the ideal would be to reach a daily consumption, in order to reduce the intake of animal proteins.

According to Spanish regional authorities, currently only 14 per cent of school canteens comply with the recommendation to serve legumes once a week.

“We trust that this new decree will finally lead to offering a more varied, balanced and healthy diet to children, and that they can learn about the benefits of a more plant-based diet,” Larco said.