Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

School cafeterias expand vegetarian options (Miami)
Miami Herald ^ | 12/8/2009 | HANNAH SAMPSON AND KATHLEEN McGRORY

Posted on 12/08/2009 8:44:12 AM PST by markomalley

For Ashley Valentín, giving up meat was easy.

The hard part: finding something to eat in the school cafeteria.

``At first, there weren't that many options,'' said Ashley, 17, a senior at Miami Sunset High. ``There was always pizza. But eating pizza all the time is unhealthy.''

School cafeterias are taking note.

While the Miami-Dade school district has long offered vegetarian items, it debuted three new vegan options this year: faux chicken nuggets, veggie burgers and hummus platters.

The Broward school district also added veggie burgers to menus districtwide. And cafeterias are now offering vegetarian and vegan salads daily -- and a hot vegan option once a week.

(Excerpt) Read more at miamiherald.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: animalrights; mentaldisorder; ocd; politicalcorrectness; publicschools; schoollunch; secularhumanism
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-52 next last
To: Above My Pay Grade
Equal treatment under the law, no special treatment, is a founding principle of this country. If kids want to eat green crap, bring it from home, so all of the other kids can say, Yuk!!!
21 posted on 12/08/2009 9:00:32 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: a fool in paradise
"Parents aren’t going to buy 5 days of lunches when so many kids can get a ‘FREE’ lunch at the schools. "

I'm sorry.

I was assuming parents with "principles", setting up brown bags to make a point..."protest", if you will.

Again, you are only enslaved to the extent of charity you receive, so if you receive "free" lunches, then - by all means - eat the fake chicken nuggets and tofu.

VEGETARIAN - an old Indian word for "bad hunter".
22 posted on 12/08/2009 9:01:24 AM PST by FrankR (SENATE: You cram it down our throats in '09, We'll shove it up your ass in '10...count on it.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 8 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

First, cut out play time and physical exercise periods.

Second, stop feeding them protein.

Third, teach them to “fist” and spit or swallow while despising books, math and science.

Finally, wait until their parents are old enough to kill off with 0bamacare and enslave them and their offspring forever.


23 posted on 12/08/2009 9:02:51 AM PST by paulycy (Demand Constitutionality.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade

“Adding caviar to the menu would be quite expensive. I doubt the vegan alternatives are.”

lol...you think “vegan” food is cheap? Do you know the difference between vegetarian and vegan?

Anything with “vegetarian” marked on it is at least 1/3 more expensive than the real thing. Anything with “vegan” on it is easily double. How do I know? Because I’m married to a vegetarian, who was vegan until we had our first child.

Fake chicken and fake hamburger patties are anything but cheap. As for the salads...well, they should have already had salad as an offering, and most likely did.


24 posted on 12/08/2009 9:06:48 AM PST by Spike Knotts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: markomalley

choice for lunches:GOOD
choice in education:BAD

The Teachers’ Unions that Stole Christmas
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2402922/posts

F’n hypocrite Demonrats


25 posted on 12/08/2009 9:10:34 AM PST by WOBBLY BOB (ACORN:American Corruption for Obama Right Now)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat

I don’t get the “equal treatment” argument. If there is enough demand for a type of food that does not raise costs, and is relatively healthy, why not offer it?

Your argument sounds rather Statist to me. (Eat whatever the gubmint tells you). Offering alternatives (provided there is sufficient demand for them) is much more free-market.


26 posted on 12/08/2009 9:11:12 AM PST by Above My Pay Grade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 21 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade

Your argument sound more anti meat than anything to me, how long have you been a member of the national human association and their animal rights wackos movement anyway.


27 posted on 12/08/2009 9:15:39 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade

“Your argument sounds rather Statist to me. (Eat whatever the gubmint tells you). Offering alternatives (provided there is sufficient demand for them) is much more free-market.”

You have no argument because we’re not discussing the free market. We’re discussing the state. State run schools, which operate from the tax payer’s money. Why don’t YOU just open a free market bazaar in front of your house offering free, diverse and delicious meals to children? You could offer anything and everything available on Earth. Then, YOU could offer everything you think people deserve without using the power of the STATE to force me to pay for it. Statist indeed...

You have no idea what the demand for these meals is at this school. So your argument fails again.

What other enterprise would you like to engage in with taxpayer’s money?


28 posted on 12/08/2009 9:16:25 AM PST by Spike Knotts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: Spike Knotts
Anything with “vegetarian” marked on it is at least 1/3 more expensive than the real thing. Anything with “vegan” on it is easily double. How do I know? Because I’m married to a vegetarian, who was vegan until we had our first child.

You are dead on, I look at that garbage and say what kind of fool would pay those prices. Then you look at the diet food and see they charge more to leave the sugar out. LOL

29 posted on 12/08/2009 9:18:33 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat

I am not anti-meat. I eat it almost everyday. I am pro-free markets. If there is a demand for a product, I think it should be supplied, if it is cost effective.

If the cafeterias were trying to push veggie items on kids who want meat and not giving them a choice, I’d be outraged.


30 posted on 12/08/2009 9:19:24 AM PST by Above My Pay Grade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 27 | View Replies]

To: 12Gauge687
When I was in junior high, peanut butter and jelly qualified as vegetarian.

Hard to find peanut butter, even brought from home. Some schools are officially "peanut free zones" because of allergies of a few.

31 posted on 12/08/2009 9:20:38 AM PST by youturn (Conference, Christine!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade
I don’t believe you!!!!

It is not cost effective and there is no demand, that is what the wackos are always trying to pass laws to force fast food joints to sell the BS.

32 posted on 12/08/2009 9:22:57 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 30 | View Replies]

To: Spike Knotts

You are building straw men and knocking them down. There has been no evidence presented that offering a salad or a veggie burger increases costs.

If it does then the taxpayers of those districts should decide whether it is worth it.

The story indicated that there was a demand for these foods. If that is not the case and the schools are spending tons of money to offer veggie foods that only a handfull of students want, I’d be opposed to it. (Of course, they could always charge more for the veggie options if they are that expensive).


33 posted on 12/08/2009 9:25:17 AM PST by Above My Pay Grade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Spike Knotts

When I was in my teens, though, they had these soy “hamburgers” at the drive-in theater snack bar that had some flavoring, that I LOVED. Could only get them at the drive-in.


34 posted on 12/08/2009 9:26:51 AM PST by NEMDF
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: org.whodat

So you are calling me a liar, because I believe it is not wrong for schools to offer veggie alternatives, provided they are cost neutral or better and there is a demand for them? Wow!

Anyway, this is making me hungry. I’m off to get some chicken and rice.


35 posted on 12/08/2009 9:28:20 AM PST by Above My Pay Grade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: youturn

That drives me crazy. I can understand having a peanut free table for the kids with allergies, but banning peanut butter on the irrational fears that some kid will drop dead from “peanut vapors” is ridiculous. My kid’s school still allows peanut butter, but strongly discourages it for classroom snacks.


36 posted on 12/08/2009 9:30:50 AM PST by Above My Pay Grade
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade

You, of course, are correct. I’m amazed that this would be controversial. Should or shouldn’t be serving lunches is not the question. How do you respond to demand? Meet it. Want more fresh fruit? Provide it! Want to close down school cafeterias? Legislate. Want to do away with free lunch programs? Legislate. This is up to Miami voters to decide. Until then, meet the demand. Even if it is only 5%. Just make sure you make a profit. And if there is a demand for caviar (a dubious proposition) meet it also.


37 posted on 12/08/2009 9:33:54 AM PST by Leonard210 (Tagline? We don't need no stinkin' tagline.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade

You should teach your strawmen how to fight, then, if they’re going down so easily. So far all you’ve done is suggest that using the money of the tax payer to offer a wide variety of food is the free market in action. So once again, I ask you...if this school is operating on the principles of the free market...who is their competition in food sales? Wonder why you won’t answer...

Evidence? You’ve offered no evidence of anything except that now it is evident you have no idea what a “free market” is. But my evidence is anyone who has ever opened their eyes in a grocery store. Or if you want a more extreme example, go to a Whole Foods. Fake chicken or fake beef is a PROCESSED vegetarian/vegan food. They’re not making up little vegan chickens in the back. They buy them ready to heat, just like the other chicken nuggets.

Let me ask you something. Maybe you can answer this question. Is “organic” food more expensive than “regular” food? You know it is. There is a large crossover between the “organic” markets and the “vegan” markets. Most “vegan” food is marketed as “organic.” So...you tell me...is it more expensive or not?

So what level of demand did the story indicate, anyway? What level of interest is your threshold? You’ve made your decision, with a few qualifiers...so where in the story was the information located that you made your decision on? Was it the part that said there is “a demand” for the food? How about a number?


38 posted on 12/08/2009 9:37:36 AM PST by Spike Knotts
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade
I don't believe you!!!
39 posted on 12/08/2009 9:38:26 AM PST by org.whodat
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 35 | View Replies]

To: Above My Pay Grade

When I was a kid there was one lunch choice: eat what they had or bring your own. It seems to me that adding more choices would increase costs, veggie or no. Should schools start offering an Adkins diet (almost all meat) choice just because a few kids want that? If you want a special meal, bring it, don’t make the whole school provide for your dietary quirks.


40 posted on 12/08/2009 9:40:10 AM PST by sportutegrl (I was for Sarah Palin before being for Sarah was cool.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 4 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-52 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson