France Requires Meat at School

Earlier this month, the French government passed a new law mandating that all meals served at schools include fish, dairy, meat, or offal as a means of providing protein and calcium. While the new rules do not explicitly ban meals without meat, French vegetarian group L214 says that the law sources all protein included in meals from animal products. The European Vegetarian Union says that this law essentially bans vegetarianism for a large portion of the French population and violates the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, as outlined by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.