New York City’s new mayor Eric Adams, himself a vegan and a type-2 diabetic, is now launching “Vegan Fridays” in New York City’s public schools. He referenced the prevalence of lifestyle-related chronic health diseases in the decision to make the switch one day a week, and stated that schools can offer one of the solutions to the problems plaguing modern society, instead of being a contributor to poor diets. Schools across the US have partnerships with for-profit fast foot vendors to sell their products within schools, making school lunches a common first step in life-long fast food addiction for teens, who are a captive audience to those private vendors.
Offering a single day with alternatives has the potential to make students more conscientious about the components of their diet, introduce them to alternatives to mass market food products, and even show that vegan and vegetarian diets can still be as or more delicious than omnivorous diets.