Fair play for plant milk? Calls to offer plant-based dairy alternatives for children in UK schools

27 Sep 2019 --- The Vegan Society is urging schools and nurseries to include fortified plant milk in nutritional public health initiatives as part of wider calls for school milk reform. The organization has published a legal opinion challenging the UK Department of Health to include fortified plant milk in its Nursery Milk Scheme after parents criticized it for excluding vegan children. The Vegan Society wants fortified plant milk to be recognized on par with cow’s milk, wherever animal milk is currently supported or promoted in schools, as an essential source of calcium and other nutrients.

The news comes as prominent medical and nutrition organizations issues a set of beverage recommendations for children, outlined by age (birth through age 5). The guidelines note that breast milk, infant formula, water and plain milk are ideal beverage choices, but did not include plant-based options. One of the points issued by the panel was that although plant-based milks may look and taste like dairy milk, their nutritional value varies from product to product. 

Speaking to NutritionInsight, Dominika Piasecka, spokeswoman for The Vegan Society says that the organization has seen a considerable increase in the number of vegans as well as flexitarians. “Research shows 17 percent of UK households purchase plant milk now. Plant milk makes up 13 percent of the entire milk category. Their sales grew by 6 percent in 2019, while cow’s milk sales declined by 3 percent.”

“As the number of vegans in Britain has quadrupled in the past four years alone, children are being brought up on vegan or predominantly plant-based diets and it’s important that they receive the support they deserve,” Piasecka stresses.

“Fortified plant milk is a good dairy milk substitute as it provides very similar nutritional content, as well as avoiding the hormones and growth factors often found in cow’s milk,” she continues. “The government’s Eatwell Guide officially recognizes fortified plant milk as a suitable and nutritious alternative to animal milk.” 

Discriminating practice?
Parents also slammed the Nursery Milk Scheme – which was established in the 1940s and offers free cow’s milk to children aged under five in nurseries – for having to pay for their child’s vegan milk.

“Law regulating the provision of milk for young children is in urgent need of reform to recognize current scientific evidence on nutrition and a growing consumer trend away from dairy products,” says Dr. Jeanette Rowley, The Vegan Society’s legal advisor. 

“Public authorities are under a general duty under the Equality Act 2010 to avoid discrimination; by limiting the Nursery Milk Scheme only to cow’s milk, the Department of Health is failing in that duty,” she notes.

“We are urging the government to include fortified plant milk in its milk schemes nationwide, to ensure vegan children are catered for with a nutritionally adequate and delicious milk alternative,” adds Dr. Rowley.

According to the organization, dozens of parents have contacted The Vegan Society to complain about the lack of plant milk provision in schools, affecting vegan children as well as those who are allergic to dairy or object to it on religious, ethical and environmental grounds.

“Sadly, schools are at the mercy of the Department of Health that administers the scheme, which is why we are directing our ‘Play Fair with Plant Milk’ campaign at the government rather than individual schools,” adds Piasecka. 

“Those that do want to help can add their name to our campaign and write a letter to the Department of Health themselves,” she adds.

Parents must organize and pay for their own plant milk delivery, which they say is “ridiculous when all the other kids get free cow’s milk every day.”

Play Fair with Plant Milk
The organization’s new “Play Fair with Plant Milk” campaign challenges the decade-long promotion of cow’s milk and calls for nurseries and schools to be more inclusive of children’s dietary requirements and ethical convictions, according to The Vegan Society.

“Vegan children are unfairly treated as they do not benefit from the current school health initiatives, which are designed to increase calcium intake for growing children,” Mark Banahan, Campaigns Manager at The Vegan Society explains. 

“They often miss out or have to rely on parents to provide their own plant milk, something that is not always possible for low-income families and causes a great deal of inconvenience to families who should be entitled to free milk alternatives,” he continues.

By Elizabeth Green