Second-Largest Mexican State to Serve Nearly 1 Million Vegan School Meals

Veracruz, Mexico’s second-largest state, will be serving 925,000 vegan meals in its schools this year.

This announcement followed an agreement between Mercy For Animals’ Latin American food policy program, “Come Consciente” (Conscious Eating), and Mexican government officials. Because of this new partnership, schools in Veracruz will offer vegan meals every Monday.

Set to begin in April, this plant-based program will be responsible for replacing 20 percent of animal products served within Veracruz schools with a vegan alternative. The healthier meals will have not only offer healthier food for the students but help them learn from an early age of the many benefits of plant-based eating, as well as develop a taste for sustainable choices for years to come.

While the program has been running in both Mexico and Brazil already, Veracruz has now become the first state to sign a bill that commits schools to promoting plant-based education, a move which enables the program to be officially implemented and backed by the state law. According to Mercy For Animals, state administration for Veracruz have hopes that this program will lessen the impact of childhood obesity and malnutrition within the state.

Schools in Veracruz will be well-prepared to phase in this new vegan meal program. A range of information will be available, including educational posters, a Veracruz-cuisine-specific recipe guide, a vegan cooking demonstration video, and a launch video.

The World Health Organization has identified the leading cause of death in Mexico to be diabetes. Killing 80,000 people per year, this disease can be, in part, mitigated by following a vegan diet. Numerous research studies have shown plant-based diets, particularly those focused on whole-foods, have a strong link with preventing diabetes and can even reverse the condition.

Additionally, both endocrinology physicians and the American Diabetes Association have voiced their recommendations for a vegan diet as part of effective diabetes treatment.

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