Open letter to the Mayor of New York City, Eric Adams

By Diana Rodgers, RD, Executive Director, Global Food Justice Alliance

The Global Food Justice Alliance advocates for the right of all people to choose nutrient-dense foods such as meat, milk, and eggs, which are critical for nutritious, environmentally sustainable, and equitable food systems that can sustain both human life and the planet.

Background:

New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has long claimed to be vegan, announced recently that as of February 4, the nation’s largest public school district (New York City) will serve only vegan food on Fridays. Adams, who also recently compared cheese to heroin, wrongly claims vegan meals will improve the diets of New York City’s one million public school students.

In fact, the vegan mandate is unscientific and will put children’s health and development at risk. Nearly ¾ of New York City public school students are economically disadvantaged. One in four children in New York City live below the poverty line. One in three don’t get enough to eat. One in ten are homeless.

School meals provide critical nutrients and energy for all children, and especially for those most vulnerable to the impacts of malnutrition and hunger. The vegan mandate combined with the city’s long-standing embrace of the dogma of “Meatless Mondays” will leave children with less nutrient-dense meals on the two most important days of the week for those who can’t get nutritious meals at home on the weekends. 

As a practicing “real food” nutritionist and the founder of the Global Food Justice Alliance, I am calling on Mayor Adams to reverse this disastrous mandate and recognize that children’s health and nourishment should be valued above his personal dietary dogma. 

Here are the facts about why we have a major food justice beef with this vegan mandate in our nation’s largest public school system: 

Anti-meat policies endanger children and are not based on science 

Banning meat in school meals sends a powerful emotional signal that eating meat is “bad” and being vegan is “good,” regardless of how uninformed that position may be. 

This kind of disordered thinking about food is recognized as deeply harmful, and children hearing this message from authority figures do not have the full choice to make their own informed decisions or protect their mental health from the inherent judgment of what they eat.

If Mayor Adams understood the facts about nutrient-dense meat and its critical role in healthy diets for children, he would know that in a typical diet of “kid-friendly” foods like pizza, macaroni and cheese, burgers, and chicken nuggets, the burger patty, chicken, and cheese are actually the MOST nutritious items within the context of an average kid’s day. Replacing a real burger with a processed, plant-based patty, processed and breaded soy “nuggets”, or removing dairy-based cheese with ultra-processed, fake vegan cheese will not help kids become healthier, it will only take away from nutrient density, protein quality, and digestibility!

Forcing kids to remove meat does not mean they will replace french fries, soda, and chips with kale salads and lentils (which can’t match the high-quality protein and other nutrients in meat, anyway). If New York City wants to address obesity and diet-related diseases, I think we can all agree the city should tackle ultra-processed, hyper-palatable fast food as the real problem facing American kids, not beef. 

Nutrient-dense foods are critical for kids’ healthy diets

There is no evidence that removing meat from kids’ diets results in better health outcomes. In fact, vegan and vegetarian diets result in nutrient deficiencies that may have dire consequences for the growth and development of children. Only one randomized controlled trial (RCT) - the gold standard in scientific evidence - has been conducted to examine the effect of including meat versus limiting meat in kids’ diets. The study found that schools which included additional meat in the diets of food insecure children resulted in improved growth, cognitive, and behavioral outcomes compared to kids who received no additional food and even compared to those who were given more calories or kids who received only extra milk. 

In contrast, studies used to justify limiting or eliminating meat are based on heavily biased and flawed observational research, which cannot prove cause. 

Animal-source foods like meat, dairy, and eggs are uniquely healthy, especially when it comes to the growth and development of children. 

While the American and British dietetic organizations say children can consume  “properly planned” vegan diets, Germany and Switzerland warn against vegan diets for infants, children, and adolescents because of the dramatically increased risk of nutrient deficiencies. 

It is very difficult to achieve “properly planned” vegan diets, which generally require more access to and information about the exact right foods and supplements needed to replace nutrient-dense, animal-source foods. It betrays a great deal of privilege to insist that balanced vegan diets are accessible, achievable, or desirable for children who most need food security and food justice and that those same children should be subjected to judgment about supposedly “better” diets. Is it possible to construct a healthy vegan diet for some children? Yes, but it’s risky. However, plant-based diets are inaccessible for the vast majority of children in New York City or anywhere.

In addition to losing out on the high-quality protein found in animal-source foods, children forced to go vegan may be subject to other critical nutrient deficiencies. For example, animal source foods are the best source of iron and the only source of B12, both critical for healthy growth, energy, and brain function.  B12 deficiency can lead to severe and irreversible delays in cognitive development, impaired academic performance, nerve damage, and failure to thrive. DHA, a fatty acid needed for brain development, is absent in a vegan diet without supplementation. The Belgian Royal Academy of Medicine states that a vegan diet induces serious deficiencies in vitamin B12, vitamin D, calcium, iron, zinc, iodine, and DHA. 

Kids in New York City rely on school lunches to stay nourished throughout their day. Mayor Adams’ vegan mandate is harmful and tone-deaf. Passing off dietary dogma as morally superior will have severe and long-lasting consequences for children’s health.

We call on Mayor Adams to put nutrient-dense meat, dairy, and eggs back on the menu and focus on real solutions, like ensuring school meals offer nutrient-dense whole foods that support kids’ healthy bodies, brains, and futures. 

If you believe we should be implementing food policy based on nutrition science that prioritizes nutrient-dense food for children, sign this letter. 

Diana Rodgers, RD

Executive Director, Global Food Justice Alliance

Real food dietitian, sustainability advocate and defender of global food equity

Naomi Perry

Marlene Sixtensson

Ruby Cacchione - “Ditto everything Diane writes. Pure lunacy and so much harm being placed on children. Get your heads out of the sand and look at how our ancestors ate for thousands of years. Get rid of the processed food and serve real food.”

Beau Smith

Michael Brinster

Mike Masone

John Sandberg

Emily Soape

Doris Sampson - “Protein is ESSENTIAL for young growing bodies AND BRAINS!!!”

Niall Christie

Kelly Clark

Kristie Wehe

Ellery Klein - “School lunches need to be nutritious, full of fresh vegetables, tasty, and well-balanced. Including meat is essential - red meat in particular is full of essential protein, vitamins and nutrients that help kids' growing brains. Upstate NY is prime grazing land. We need to not "ban meat" for the planet, but work on restoring our local food systems, in particular through regenerative agriculture - maybe even starting a pipeline of interested kids on a vocational path to learning the right way to farm!”

Yekaterina Benson

Anthony Ardizzone

Kelly Dwyer

Joan Falcao - “Grass fed beef and other pastured animals are even more nutritious than their conventional counterparts.”

Derek Schaible

Karen Rowehl - “I am a Registered Dietitian who believes in the value of nutrient dense animal foods. There is nothing wrong with providing vegan OPTIONS for those who want it. To exclude meat as an option is imposing one person’s values on another.”

Daiane Torres - “A point in favor of meat products is that they are less allergenic than plant foods, on top of being much more nutritious. I personally follow an animal based diet to circumvent allergies like nickel (a diet low in grains, nuts, seeds, pulses, some leaf greens like lettuce and spinach, and even roots like carrots as well as all citrus fruits) as well as to wheat/gluten, being celiac.”

Michael Geary

Dawne Litterst

Dove Raina - “The research connecting saturated fat and cholesterol containing foods with cardiovascular disease is faulty. High carbohydrate diets are to blame. In the real world, vegan translates to high carb. Whole seed foods contain phytate, an anti-nutrient. These foods require special preparation to neutralize phytates. Vegan diets are not appropriate for women, children or older adults. Instead of basing everything on total blood cholesterol, use vitamin D status. Dark skinned children in NYC need animal source foods AND vitamin D3 supplements, not high carb, craving inducing vegan meals.”

Amanda Myers

Gregory Thomas - “Sends the wrong message. Eating meat isn’t bad for health.”

Cris Trainor - “A vegan diet is harmful to the health of children.”

Michael Goodman - “There are so many nutrients in animal products that cannot be replaced without deliberate and educated supplementation, something a kid should not have to worry about. Statistically, half of kids are already deficient in iron, B12, folate, mitochondrial components, vitamin A, Carnitine, choline, creatine, simple proteins, and a host of other nutrients that are uniquely supplied in animal products. Additionally, animals are essential for the environment. Monocrop agriculture, what replaces regenerative agriculture when we remove the animals, is dangerous to water retention in the soil, and carbon sequestration. Removing animals is not the solution to improving our environment. Rather, we should consider how we are farming and how we are growing our foods. As a very concerned father, please do not make our children suffer by vilifying animal products. Consider offering options rather than making a decision that is based on very controversial science. Thank you.”

Suzanne Strassburger - “Are you feeding children or your own ego?”

Andrew Evans - “I would recommend having a vegan food option for lunch, but not mandating it as the only option. There is plenty of evidence that prices meat and dairy is good for the body and the earth. I’m glad that you, Mayor Adams found a way to eat healthy, but it is not right to mandate everyone implement that way of eating as it gives kids the wrong message that meat or dairy is bad.”

Robert Wells - “A nutrient dense diet is the healthiest diet. Especially during this stage in a growing child’s life. The children of NYC need all the help they can get.”

Jody Guth

Yuri Launitz

LaVonda Elam

Diane Fischler

Daniel Cook

Jameson Oppertem - “Don't meat shame”

Steven Maxey - “Please don’t remove the most nutrient dense component of kid’s lunches. It’s critical that children are well nourished for their health and development.”

Jeremy Mohs - “This policy should be criminal. The vegan diet is not viable for humans. The "nutrition" in a vegan diet has the mere fraction of the bioavailability that animal foods have and have always had. Furthermore, most plant based diets are rich in phytates, lectins, oxylate and other anti nutrient and plant toxins compounds. Why would you want to keep kids from accessing the most nutritious foods on the planet for humans let alone growing humans If you want to institute any change to the food policy, it should include holistically raised meat as opposed to industrially raised meat. It should also limit chicken and pork as these animals eat exclusively grains and legume monocrops saturated in glyphosate.....absolutey horrendous. The diet must consist of lots of good beef, eggs and high quality dairy. Educate yourself in order to not make this very monumental mistake, this WILL! harm children and I won't stand for it.”

Marina Baldwin

Joan Bowen

Laverne Lear - “Red meat is a great source of protein, iron, and zinc. All three are needed to provide a beneficial diet for children. As cattle producers we take great care in providing safe and sustainable beef for our families, friends and humans across the the globe.”

Mark Morsfield

Christine Gilmour - “Defend the right for kids to have a nutritious food choice including animal protein for lunch. Thank you.”

Rhonda Stricker

Timothy Olsen - “Listen to your own body Mayor Adams. If you are craving fish it is because a 100% plant-based diet is not able to give you all the nutrition you need. Why deprive the city's children in the same way? They are GROWING and need the best nutrition for LEARNING. Please stop the anti-animal foods agenda and remove processed foods instead. It's the processed foods that are the problem, not animal-based foods.”

Mango Baldwin

Kristen Wangerin

James - “Listen to your own body Mayor Adams. If you are craving fish it is because a 100% plant-based diet is not able to give you all the nutrition you need. Why deprive the city's children in the same way? They are GROWING and need the best nutrition for LEARNING. Please stop the anti-animal foods agenda and remove processed foods instead. It's the processed foods that are the problem, not animal-based foods.”

Teresa Meyer - “Please provide clean, nutritious food in the way of MEAT and vegetables for school children. So many studies show people cannot get fat soluble vitamins A, D, E and K2 from plant sources efficiently. Going vegetarian would cause their health to suffer even more.”

Inge Nilsen-Nygaard - “When are the vegans going to realize that they have been misled by religious dogma and the large food companies like Kraft Post and Kellogs.”

Kimberly Delattre - “Animal foods contain vital, bioavailable micro- and macronutrients that children need to thrive. Teaching kids these foods are “bad” is a grave mistake.”

Holly Morello - “As a Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioner I am concerned about vegan Fridays at schools. This is a possibility nutritionally devastating message to children that meat, eggs, seafood and dairy is bad when in these foods are the most nutrient dense food available.”

Kathy Blythe - “I have been following Diana Rogers and her alliance. I have learned a lot. It is very important as she says for these children to have nutritious food. Ultra-processed plant-based foods do not provide what they need. If you want to be a vegan that is your prerogative. But you are an adult with access to many options and the ability to know what to choose and the money to do so. Plus you are a grown man, not a growing young child. Please reverse your order for these vulnerable young people. Thank you.”

Tim Dubie

Pippa Falstrup

Beth Lipton - “Our schools need so much. Lunches alone need a major overhaul—but taking meat out is not the answer. Kids need and deserve real nourishment, they should not be deprived of one of the planet’s most nutrient dense foods. If you really care about our NYC public school children (like my daughter), why not partner with an upstate farm and get the kids fresh produce and grass-fed/pastured meat and poultry? Why not focus on taking crappy processed foods out of the cafeteria and getting them more whole, real foods (including meat)? This vegan Friday thing is nothing but BS virtue signaling. It’s not for the kids, it’s for you. Use that energy to do something good for them.”

Lindsay Ackroyd

Kelly Taylor

Leighann Panico - “The problem is processed foods and sugary drinks and snacks, not meat. Pushing the message vegan is good is not only false but will only increase the likelihood children eat vegan foods that are not nutritious like chips, candy and carbs. A balanced diet is one that tells kids chicken, fish, turkey etc. are a good source or protein, not tofu or fake beyond meat substances. The people of NY are upset with this policy.”

Dennye Medlar - “A better approach is finding better quality animal products that don't come in a package, for children's lunches. Feeding children a nutritionally dense meal pay off in more productive adults!”

George Elder - “Unbelievable that children would be disadvantaged like this. Authorities should be trying to build health for their children. They should also be teaching children how to make healthy choices for their future.”

Alexandra Sack - “Meat is a vital and nutritious part of children’s diet. It will be detrimental to exclude this important food group.”

Lisa M. - “Our children need better nutrition, not worse.”

Diane Pearson - “Mayor Adams, I'm sure your intention is good in creating a vegan day for schoolchildren, but there will be unintended consequences. If animal products are replaced with meatlike foods that include soy and gluten (wheat, barley, etc.), then it could activate allergies and intolerances in susceptible children. (As a celiac, I know all about this. I was a vegetarian for 18 years, but after I got sick, I could not get my digestive health back until I added meat back to my diet.) I am all for vegetables--the more the better! But by vegetables, I mean leafy greens, cruciferous veggies, sweet potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc.--not just refined grains and soy! True, many children (and their families) eat unhealthy diets. But removing meat, or substituting it with fake processed meatlike products, is not the way to improve that! Growing minds and bodies need high-quality protein.”

Kristi Stoyak - “I respectfully disagree with the initiative pushing for vegan lunches in the public school system. Please reconsider by including more nutritious, less processed animal based sources of food in school lunches.”

Shelley Eisenrich - “I’m a retired medical professional and have been researching health and diet for fifty years. The importance of animals in our diets cannot be overstated, and is imperative for our health and the survival of our brains. Sustainable farming practices must replace high density livestock production.”

Jessica Valentín - “Removing the option for biologically appropriate, nutrient dense foods in the form of meat and animal products to developing children’s minds and bodies is harmful and unjust. If children want to be vegan on their own accord, that’s one thing, but if you’re forcing children to be vegan for a day, many of whom rely on school meals for their nutrition, that is entirely unfair to these children. You’re doing a big disservice to the next generation with this choice to serve vegan lunches on Fridays.”

Ava Ajlouny

Maggie Skewes - “After being vegan for almost 50 years with various health issues such as stomach ulcers, big digestive issues and never feeling quite right now at the age of 73 and having put in meat and fish into my diet for the past one and a half years I finally feel great. Veganism is certainly not for children and I do not believe it is for most adults. Nutrition is so important for the human health and body and it really should include animal products.”

Emilyl Robertson - “I was a NYC school kid in the 50's, in a neighborhood of war refugee families, and I remember school lunches vividly. For some of my friends, that hard boiled egg, slice of cheese or bologna was the only animal protein they got all day. HOW DARE YOU deprive malnourished kids of that meager serving of balanced protein and good fat??!! Please learn something about human nutrition, and the shopping hehavior of destitute families. Reality check, please! I am so disappointed.”

Rondi Lightmark - “Since you say you know a lot about diet due to your own issues, especially for people of color, your choice of a processed food, unpalatable meal for disadvantaged young kids is cruel and ignorant. You are not setting an example that will lead to health, but to more chronic diseases and problems at home and in the classroom.”

Megan Rossi

Paulo Augusto Franke - “Religion - vegangelism is just that: religion messing with nutrition science - should not have a say in public health affairs.”

Don Wilson - “Please have someone in your office do some research into the truth about healthy nutrition. Also, where are the ingredients for the meat free meals coming from? Are they locally grown in winter? What are the costs of the factories used to create them? The shipping? The soil? A better option might be locally sourced Fridays? Or sustainably grown Tuesdays.”

Sammy Cartagena - “I think you need to reconsider this proposal, due to the low levels of nutrition that will likely be in these vegetarian meals. Especially if they primarily comprise of processed grains.”

Amy Cartagena

Anna Krylova

Susan Gort

Georgine Bosak - “Meat is not bad, and by not offering meat for lunch, you are implying that meat is a bad choice. Beef and other ruminant animals offer nutrients that you cannot get from a vegan meal. And if that vegan meal is not from whole food and from processed food, it’s even worse.”

Louise Luedtke

Lindsay Freylack

Dr. Susan Wolver - “My family is in NY. Please follow the evidence. Thank you.”

Lauren Purcell

Nancy Merz

Kate S.

Brian Klein

Michael Smartt - “I'm a Functional Health Coach, trained in nutrition and more, in the field since 1998. What makes sense about humans as herbivores (i.e.: Vegans)? Humans and hominids have been eating meat for ~3 million years. It's absolutely essential to who we are.WORK FOR BETTER MEAT, DON'T DENY IT!”

Jordan Phillips

Jason Waters

Niklas Arrhenius

Janet Engle - “As a pediatrician I am appalled at the foods we will feed our kids in school and the message that tortilla chips are healthier than chicken or beef.”

Hollice Kindred

Christine Kim - “This policy your pushing is not backed by science and is so problematic - it's not that we feel that kids MUST eat meat at every single meal, it's the damaging message that all meat is "bad" and being vegan is "good" to a population of at risk kids. 3/4 of NYC students are economically disadvantaged and 1 in 10 are homeless and telling them to go vegan is only going to make their situation worse.”

Beatrice Frias

Rob Matthews - “I think improving children’s diet is critical to their mental and physical health, and removing important essential nutrients by having a vegan day it’s a very bad idea.”

Cathy Jaffee

Kerri Hallihan

Deirdre Sumida - “I beg you to reconsider this ill-informed mandate. As someone who's health was ruined by a (high quality) vegan diet, and restored by adding meat, I know first-hand the importance of animal protein to a healthy diet, particularly for growing children.”

Ethan Sheehan - “I couldn’t agree more with this letter! I am a kid too, and honestly meat is extremely nutrient dense. I’m not sure why mayor Adams is blaming meat when he should be focusing on ultra processed foods, but I guess trying to eliminate ultra processed foods isn’t as newsworthy”

João Camejo

Amy Harding - “DO NOT deprive kids of the most nutrient dense, nutritionally bioavailable foods (animal meat and fat), especially during these critical brain-forming years.”

Aria Haney

Chaise Meier

Steven Agar - “Kids need meat and dairy to properly develop. Do not deprive them of their futures.”

Susan Bundlie - “Please take time to further research this important issue. Meat was critical in our ancestory as humans, and—contrary to the opinions of a vocal minority of people—could be so beneficial to so many. Ruminant animals are vilified as causing harm to the earth, but that is so untrue. Dig beneath the catchy phrases and false statistics!”

Zinnia Cheetham - “I was a vegetarian for four years until I was so sick and anemic that I had to re-introduce meat. By then my gut was so damaged that I went meat-based since when I tried to eat plants I got sick from the FODMAPS, oxalates, and other toxic chemical compounds. There is also science to back up why kids need to eat meat. Omnivorous kids actually grow taller then meat abstaining kids. Mental health is improved when eating meat (both for me and in a meta analysis of studies). Many parents have caused child abuse or death by putting babies and young children on a vegan diet. It is not natural or beneficial for children (or anyone) to be vegan.”

Anna Venizelos

Sydnee Stoyles - “I am all for encouraging everyone to eat more vegetables, but removing all animal products is dangerous. Both for individual health and the health of our planet.”

Teri Riley - “Please take note of this letter. It's based on actual science, not feel-good thoughts about saving the animals. Our kids need to be fed the highest quality protein we can.”

Charles Anacker - “Meatless Fridays harms poorer kids more, because school may be their only or best chance of eating high quality protein. Vegetable protein is just inadequate without lots of expensive supplements eating too many carbs which will make these children gain weight and be unhealthy.”

Laura Burch - “Mayor Adams, Your city is the northeast's epicenter for the world and my farm is just east of upstate's bucolic and pastoral setting. We're close enough to share the same community dynamics even though they are strikingly different. On our farm diversity in micro-organisms, species, and age is the norm, not monocropping and fossil fuel based inputs. We're figuring out how to support and build soil that grows deep, diverse rooted plants to capture as much solar energy as possible that ruminants in particular, transform into nutrient dense meats and biodegradable fiber like wool. This process also slows, sinks, and spreads water which in turn supports a healthy watershed and protects your city. Also, a healthy ecosystem as described builds soil and the carbon sponge within it to help mitigate climate change. All of my actions are geared toward humanity's prosperity in a biologically active and fully functioning ecosystem for the benefit of all. I need influential people like you to see the purpose and importance of this work and to support minimally processed foods with the greatest nutritional value and the least amount of packaging. I'd also argue the lowest carbon footprint. Do it for the kids. We need them all. Be well, Laura Burch SVTFarm, Wells, VT”

Andrea Fionda

Holly Lloyd - “Children need animal based nutrients to thrive!”

Carolyn Hagmann

Karina Monne - “No vegan meals for kids. They need the protein to grow and develop their brains.”

Mike Garrison

Stephanie Alessandrone

Sybil Strawser

Sheila Rixon

Joe Cusick

Amelia Mooney - “Animal foods are a critical and easily accessible source of quality nutrition for people, especially kids who are growing and are going to become the next leaders of our world. Vegan diets lack many essential nutrients that cannot simply be supplemented with pill. By sending the message that eating meat is bad, you create a society that is separated from what is natural for humans. Maybe instead of Vegan Fridays we can have Whole-Food Wednesdays where all the foods served are unprocessed and in their natural state. E.g. chicken, pork, or beef, rice or quinoa, and some type of cooked vegetable. This would also make it easy for school nutrition programs to source locally. It is simply unethical to promote that all meat is bad for us and the planet, and that we should instead buy expensive, nutrient-poor, lab-made foods, that are “proven” to be better for our environment.”

Sigrid Gray - “NYC schools fail in duty of care with nutritional density of meals served most days, but removing amino acids on Friday takes the cake.”

Teydin Romanowsky

Jean Bruno - “Meat feeds their brains and their bodies. Don't deny our children what will make them healthiest and most ready to learn!”

Tamzin Smith

Sharon deRham - “Please include meat on all daily menus for school children. They need it for development, and meatless and vegan meals do NOT provide needed nourishment. Thanks”

Sara Talcott

Tim Rodgers

Ralph Boas - “I totally agree. Take on ultra processed foods instead which are the real problem, not nutrient dense meat, dairy and eggs.”

Lisa Haagen

Mark Fox - “There are two perfect foods beef and water. Don’t deprive the students of the food the food that will make them smart and strong. I eat beef every day and always will.”

Christa Riepe

Thomas McCafferty

Kimberly Famighetti - “Mayor Adams, The message that going vegan is more healthful is inherently wrong and potentially dangerous, especially for kids who are already economically disadvantaged. I urge you to reconsider your position on this.”

Meg Richichi - “Good Balanced Nutrition is based in real science-nutrient dense and void of processed foods. Start taking a survey after your "meatless" Friday's lunches and you'll find that students are sleepy and inattentive. Why? You left out an essential part of the food pyramid- PROTEIN.”

Lilah Fisher Wise

Charles Uyeda

Jennifer Seymour - “Kids who receive free and reduced price meals are at increased risk of malnutrition. Conveying the idea that vegan food is virtuous to malnourished kids who are heading into a weekend of marginal food options at home is elitism at its most nefarious. Certainly vegetarian options should be available, but the risk to kids’ brain health from B12 and other vegan micronutrient deficiencies is too great. They should never be full-on vegan, and encouraging it amongst economically marginal kids who won’t have access to multivitamins supplements and carefully balanced diets is tantamount to conspiracy against the poor. Please reverse the wrong-minded vegan Friday policy.”

Gunn Surdal - “All people, but especially kids, need nutritious food to be healthy! Meat is very nutritious and very healthy!”

Ted Metzger

Drew Niemeyer - “As a fully-grown adult, increasing my intake of nutrient-dense foods (meat and eggs) has been instrumental in overcoming chronic disease. Children have a greater need for these foods and reducing their intake can cause irreversible damage to developing bodies!”

Marlene Rosander

David Martin - “Kids on a vegan diet become deficient in vitamin B12 leading to dementia.”

Willem Basson

Helen McGuinness

Courtney Bucio - “Take out the processed crap, that's the true bad food that needs to go. You should not be taking our any of the real whole foods and meat.”

Erin Skinner - “As a practicing Registered Dietitian, I whole-heartedly agree with this letter. Please re-consider this policy that is risky to vulnerable children, both physically and mentally.”

Roger DeLeeuw - “Dear Mayor, This vegan Friday is a huge mistake, it wil disadvantage malnutrited kids even more. I do know your time is sparse, but please read all inportant sides, specifically the real scientific first, before making really wrong descissions like this. One cannot permit himself to fall in the hands of wrong lobbyists here”

Veronica Kartous

Egidija Biel

Ian Schwartz

James Meyerhoff

Katy DeZellar

Hunter Hardin

Catherine DiSanzo

Todd Craig - “Please don’t force the Vegan diet on our young people. They need proper nutrition, not crazy people diets!”

Pavel Gotovkin - “Omitting meat entirely should be a specifically tailer intervention in certain cases and not and all around dietary direction. Replacing processed and factory farmed meat with sustainably produced meat is the better indication.”

Diane Petrie - “I’m a health care provider and mother who cares about feeding healthy and sustainable foods to my kids because I have that choice. Kids need proteins and fresh fruits and veggies that they will eat as well as the nutritional benefits of meat and dairy that are almost impossible to get from other sources, especially highly processed meat alternatives. Give kids real food.”

Andrew Tyler - “Please repeal the vegan-only lunch policy in schools.”

Christopher Carbone - “Your anti-meat agenda is a bad idea for many reasons. Stop trying to force veganism down our kids’ throats.”

Skylar Parent

Jonny Bowden - “I believe in freedom of religion. I also believe in separation of church and state. Veganism is NOT a scientifically based way of eating, it is a religion. And you have every right to practice it. But you do NOT have the right to impose your belief system-- which is exactly what it is-- on my kids. And i voted for you (I won't again)”

Saskia Hendrickx

Jon Brown - “Good nutrition is important to young children. Meat provides everything.”

Mark Cucuzzella - “As a professor of Medicine in a state w massive food insecurity and obesity/diabetes we need to get high quality protein as the priority. That is animal product.”

R. McPhaden - “Please look carefully at the scientific truth of not eating meat for growing children. This isn’t something to do to children. Facts please.”

Erika Ugianskis

Olivia

Jules Anacker - “As a mental health and nutrition practitioner, I have seen so many suffer from eating a vegan diet. It's quite possible one of the worst diets for mental health. Having children go through this stress is unnecessary and cruel. No one should be force to eat synthetic food. So many will suffer because of this twisted and unscientific policy.”

Liz Voss

Abby Heidari

Susan Nelson - “Meat is not the enemy”

Norman Bay - “It is time to take food guidelines out of the hands of conflicted dieticians who do not respect science.”

Ellen Rinell

Megan Lacognata

Carissa Girard

Chef Jem - “The longest-standing accounts of the nourishing traditions of virtually all peoples included animal --based foods in their diets. Dr. Weston A. Price documented this in his work: Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. Please read at least a summary of this before proceeding with any animal-based food restrictions for children. Of all the people that need the very best nutrition choices children are at the top of the list.”

Luiz Zorzanelli

Jessica Goff

Nathan Klipfel - “Veganism severely harms child development. There is no evidence whatsoever that it is good for kids and mountains of evidence that it is seriously harmful and may even do irreparable damage. If you want to make kids aware of the environment and health then you'd be better off scheduling trips to family farms and having regeneratively-farmed beef Mondays and/or Fridays. Not as catchy, but will support improving the environment (which regenerative farming has been proven to do), learning about and understanding where their food comes from, and the important lesson that there can be no human life without animal death, so it is best to minimize that death by honoring the animals which provide the most nutrition for humans with their consumption rather than endlessly cramming highly processed nutrient-devoid plant matter into their faces when the monocropping and factory processing required to produce it kills hundreds of thousands more critters than a single cow's death which can feed a family for a year”

Nadia Bertin - “Meat heals”

Maria Litwiler - “Trust the science" and put animal proteins back in schools before these kids suffer the consequences.”

Maria Kubiak

Brandi Carrico

Thomas Barrett

Kevin Wong - “I'm against enforcing dietary standards that are not backed up by sound science upon our school children.”

Megan Maxey

Sarah Eisler - “As someone whose health was severely damaged by eating a vegan diet, I kindly ask you to reconsider removing animal foods on Fridays.”

Jane Erwin

Josh Jorgensen - “I applaud your desire to help school kids achieve better health, but this is not the way. Vegan/vegetarian diets are possible for affluent people with access to the fringe foods and supplements needed to avoid nutrient deficiencies, but those NYC school kids don't have that. Animal sourced foods statistically are the most nutrient dense, it's a fact, so taking that out of their meals is only going to make the children's health worse.”

Janine Kyrillos - “As an obesity medicine physician, I am very concerned about restricting the amount of protein in children’s school lunches to plant based proteins which will increase carbohydrate intake causing a higher risk of obesity, diabetes, and insulin resistance. There are so many other ways to improve school lunches without focusing energy to restricting meat, eggs, cheese, and dairy.”

Kirsty Watts

Candice Vader - “Low fat vegan diets shouldn't be forced on children since they haven't been shown to be superior for even adults.”

Megan Weeber

Justin Michener - “This type of dietary approach needs careful planning and implementation to a degree that in order to be successful would no longer be viable at this level. Absolutely cut out processed foods but please do not accidentally implement a risky experiment with this population of public school children.”

Sue Francis

Lee Diller

Matthew Peckham - “Feeding children a vegan diet should be illegal.”

Bevan Awai

Adam Perrin

Barry Masterman - “The vegan dogma is based in an almost religious belief system due to the twisting of observational studies, often funded by the 7th Day Adventists, who are deeply invested in the cereal grain industry. There’s no evidence whatsoever that vegan diet is healthier than a whole foods based omnivorous diet.”

Taylor Milly - “Too many young girls suffer from eating disorder.. most often their first step is to cut meat out.. they think they’ll save the world and end up destroying their health. Promote healthy food and sustainable agriculture.. not oversimplified solutions which are truly misleading!”

Georgia Ede - “Dear Mayor Adams: As a psychiatrist specializing in nutrition and mental health who worked in colleges and universities for many years, I truly appreciate your efforts to improve the nutritional quality of student meals. However, your well-intentioned policy will signal to families in New York City and across the country that children should not eat animal foods, and this will unfortunately have the opposite of your intended effect: it will endanger the health and well-being of children. It is well-established that vegan diets lack the essential nutrients required for growth, repair, and maintenance of the human brain and body and are therefore wholly inappropriate for children. It is a little known fact that there is absolutely no scientific evidence that simply removing animal foods from the human diet benefits health in any way. This is because, unfortunately, studies comparing vegan diets to omnivorous diets do much more than simply remove animal foods from the diet; they also change numerous other aspects of the diet, including removing the refined carbohydrates and junk foods which nutrition experts of diverse philosophies all agree are unhealthy. If it is important to you to have policies grounded in science that support student health, please ask your nutrition consultants if they can show you even one study demonstrating the health benefits of removing all animal foods from the diet that is not complicated by any other changes to the diet. I am confident they will not be able to produce one and hope that this may help you to reconsider your influential policy. If you would like to improve the nutritional quality of school meals, you could have tremendous impact by instituting restrictions on refined carbohydrates such as sugar, flour, and fruit juice, which are nutrient-poor and damaging to health in a myriad of ways. For example, how about going cookie-free, fries-free, or chips-free? A whole foods menu plan would be a safe, healthy, and truly progressive policy that would set a wonderful example for schools across the country. Respectfully, Georgia Ede MD”

Courtney Johnson

Lisa Rakic - “Meat is nutrient-dense with the building blocks necessary for physical development. The high bioavailability of its nutrients make it an efficient and valuable food source everyone should have access to, especially children.”

Neil Burnett

Joseph White - “The new meatless Friday restrictions are detrimental to health and academic performance and are not grounded in science. This form of virtue signaling will have negative and discriminatory repercussions here and elsewhere and set terrible precedent.”

Lori Bennett

Melissa Gellert

Barbara Talley - “Please stop putting the health and cognitive development of New York’s children at risk for dubious nutritional claims and virtue signaling.”

Antony Hague - “Forcing people to eat vegan is taking away their freedom of choice. now one should be aloud to force their belief on others.”

Jon Robison - “As a nutrition professional I would prefer that politicians stay the hell away from making nutrition recommendations for children or adults.”

Teresa Wagner

Gabriela Giuggioloni

Kris Sampson

Dina Griauzde

Jessica Valliere

Lawrence Gustafson - “Children need animal protein to thrive! The literature is CLEAR on this!”

Christy Kesslering

Puerto Maria

William Monaghan - “Vegan diets are dangerous for children”

Daniel Pincus

Frédéric Leroy - “Depriving children from animal source foods may come with serious health risks. This is not something we should take lightly, especially at policy level. As a matter of fact, such decision comes with a HUGE responsibility and need careful non-biased evaluation. Here's an overview of the science (including links to the primary scientific source material): https://aleph-2020.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-very-young-are-particularly-at-risk.html https://aleph-2020.blogspot.com/2019/05/animal-source-foods-cover-special-needs.html”

Grace Brazil

Edward D'Amato

Michelle Crysler

Keely Brazil - “Kids deserve better than empty carbs. Underprivileged and at risk children rely most on these meals and most desperately need the nutrients provided by animal based foods which science increasingly proves is vital for health and development. Please consider giving these kids what they need to thrive.”

Romina Tollerutti

Jon Treffert

Peggy Holloway - “Please research the science and stop this horribly misguided plan.”

Kris Glassman - “I realize a vegan diet cured you but for MOST people, and particularly kids, a vegetarian diet does more harm than good.”

Lorraine Lewandrowski - “And, the Mayor should withdraw his calls to shut down the dairy farms of the region.”

Amanda Flanagan

David Madajski - “Meat is a crucial part of a nutrient-dense meal. Let the children and parents decide for themselves.”

Hideyoshi Coryne

John Dickinson - Chair of the Northeast Dairy Producers Association

Tammy Barack - “I think your intentions are misguided. If you want to provide vegan options, fine, but don't eliminate meat altogether, even if it's only for one day. Children's brains require animal protein and fat to properly develop.”

Patty Goff - “Students should be able to choose nutrient-dense foods such as meat, milk, and eggs. Meat provides a concentrated source of essential micronutrients such as zinc, vitamin B12, calcium, iron and Vitamin A, which cannot easily be obtained solely from plant foods. You are risking students health by mandating this!”

Neil Burnett - “Don’t be a hypocrite, but if you must, at least make B12 and fat soluble vitamins and omega 3 supplements freely available on Friday’s too.”

Maria Edwards - “I agree!!!!”

Robert Oh - “Bravo. cut the crap carbs out - not the dairy and chicken. Gummy bears are vegan - not healthy.”

Kevin Renk - “Red meat is the most nutrient dense food on the planet.”

Lori Schumacher - “If we care about students’ health and protecting the environment, then we should be feeding students whole, unprocessed, local foods including plants and meat. I do not support removing nutritious meats from children’s dietary choices.”

Mariah Fleck

Irina Lelikova - “Please provide kids with whole nutrient dense animal protein. Poor kids can't afford to supplement for the deficiencies.”

Marco Hoffman

Audrey Schaps - “Please prioritize the nutrition of our children. Meat and milk provide critical nourishment for our children who don't get enough to eat at home.”

Tony Gordon

Sharon Beaulieu - “Solve real problems with real solutions.”

James Connolly

Stefan Plett

Joanna Blythman

Yolanda Fasla

Sue Donovan

Stephanie Sommers - “Some of us have gut microbiomes that just don't work well with lots of grains, fruit and vegetables, as these contain plant toxins such as lectins, phytates and oxalates that provoke many gut and autoimmune issues, as evidenced by elimination diets such as FODMAPs, and GAPs. We can only thrive on meat-based diets, and until scientists can figure out why, it doesn't make sense to push a vegan agenda.”

Jodi Oliver

Geoffrey Jones - “serve real food, not processed.”

Ross Lane - “Mayor Adams - wake up! Get real, and stop imposing your misguided beliefs on anyone else!”

Lori Bennett

Rondi Lightmark - “Many kids in New York eat mostly processed foods and lack good nutrition at home on the weekends. Meatless Mondays and Fridays therefore result in four days of food that does not contribute to their optimal growth and development. Vegan eating is elitist and inappropriate for children--please do the research, especially when it comes to young girls, and reconsider this very bad decision.”

Jennifer Clarno - “The removal of animal foods from children's lunches is a horrific mistake.
Do not force your ridiculous and privileged on the children of NYC. It is not more nutritious or better for the planet. It is simply misinformed.”

Melanie Updegraff

James Copeland

John Newitt - “All people especially developing children need nutritious foods. Meat is one of the most nutrient dense foods available. Change from ultra processed junk-don’t just say meat is the problem.”

Matthew Werger - “Stop the Vegan agenda - beef is good and good for you.”

Diane Langdon - “Reducing the best source of protein and amino acids for human nutrition, especially in developmental age group, is ill-advised and not based on sound science. This policy is likely to have negative consequences in the future for this younger generation.”

Micah West

Bonni London

Jodi Oliver

Timothy Olsen - “Are you going to serve the same fish you eat Mayor Adams to the city's kids on Fridays?”

Tanner Allen - “Give children and families their freedom to choose what and how they eat. Mandating certain nutritional habits are not only harmful to physical health, but mental health too.”

Angela Boudro - “I am a regenerative agriculture consultant, focusing on helping farmers and ranchers implement truly sustainable and regenerative practices that yield highly nutritious food. I was appalled to hear that a government official thinks it is within his responsibility to FORCE students to eat in a way that undermines their health and also supports the idea that grain and vegetable production is better for the environment, which has been found to be false repeatedly. I strongly urge the repeal of this misguided mandate.”

Adam Perrin - “As an organic farmer growing livestock and produce we work hard to grow the most nutritious food. A truly healthy diet must include animal proteins for all the necessary nutrients people require. It is not the place of a mayor to dictate the food children cannot eat. A vegan diet is unhealthy for people and for the earth. You need to do some real research and withdraw this policy.”

Bruce Linebaugh - “As a farm to table college we offer both meat and vegan based diets and the student has the choice to choose their food they want to eat.”

Christopher Dodd

Derek Taylor - “Please have some common sense here. These unscientific bandaids are not the solution to addressing the root cause of our ails. You have to go beneath the surface which requires a lot more depth than this, spoiler alert! Thank you.”

Momilani Dick

Juliet Straeb - “Quality meat is the most nutritious whole food available. Please do not harm our future generations.”

Laura Lynch - “If they want to add to the Obesity issues facing today’s youth, then by all means replace nutrient dense meat with yet MORE carb and processed non GMO garbage! How exactly do these people think humans managed to thrive and reproduce as a species? It certainly wasn’t on carbs and sugar! Returning to as close as possible, the ancestral diet of man, is the only way to end this cycle of metabolic health issues and disease facing modern man, women and children! Stop pushing the agenda of big Pharma, and big AG! Instead push the agenda of health… and end the metabolic issues that these lobbying conglomerates foster!”

Alyona Kosovskykh

Karen Khusro - “Don't punished children with inadequate nutrition of heavily processed vegan foods.”

Alfie MCCaffrey

Omar Lopez - “Anti-meat is not the answer to obesity and malnutrition.”

P Holloway - “This is a terribly misguided and sadly dangerous policy. Please, please study evidence-based nutrition science and reconsider. You may want to follow a way of eating based on ideology with no basis in science, but please do not impose this poor decision on children who need the nutrients in animal-based foods for their bodies, and most importantly, their brains.”

Valerie Nelson - “This is a horrible decision for the health of our children. This messaging about vegan diets being healthier has got to stop, there is no evidence for it, but plenty of evidence that it causes nutrient deficiencies and multiple health issues. Children are not going to make sure they are covering all of the vitamins/minerals/amino acids that they do not get from animal products, they are most likely going to end up eating more highly processed foods which are definitely linked with many health problems. We have to do better.”

Nigel Paver - “This is a truly disastrous and dangerous policy that could have far reaching consequences. Do you really think that the list of chemically processed foods you are offering is going to improve a child’s health? Please stop this insanity”

Michaela Wehner

Rachel Gorup

Christina Phelps - “I know many New York City children that go hungry outside of school. By designating Friday to be vegan, this means they will start their weekend hungry and missing key nutrients needed for healthy development of their brains. Why not search out local farms where they can provide whole nutrition via meats/vegetables and let the students have a choice of the fresh food they desire. It’s a WIN-WIN for local farmers and New York City children. Thank you for your consideration.”

Candice Vader - “Real food, nutrient dense. Animal products are the most dense. Veganism seems to be a religion not about nutrition.”

Maddy Ansems

Natasha Mulvihill

Glenn Earp

Isabelle Abrams - “Children should be given real unprocessed food, not processed alternatives!”

Joseph OLeary - “At 52 years of age, I am testament to the health benefits of a meat-based diet. Prior to turning 50, I prided myself on being a physically active vegetarian, eating mostly plans, grains, legumes, etc. My health deteriorated and even though I was not fat, I was considered skinny-fat. Since integrating mostly meat into my diet on a daily basis, all of my health issues have disappeared and I am in the best physical shape of my life.”

Gail Fore - “Please avoid perpetuating harmful myths, and robbing many of nutrition. Read the truth; the science. Nonsense spreads so easily, please don't be a spreader. Thank you.”

Alice Starek

Joseph Thomas - “As a high school strength coach, I'm appalled with the "no meat" fad. Meat is essential for proper nutrition for our growing youth and provides energy plant foods simply don't have the capability of doing. "Meatless" days are not only unfair, they are inhumane and borderline child abuse.”

Charles Custance - “Children deserve to get the vital nutrients that animal products provide. Meatless Mondays and Vegan Fridays need to end.”

Chris St. John

Kevin Ebsworth - “Stop government overreach, this is foolish! Personal liberty is not being beholden to lobbyists of the no meat movement.. here’s an idea, practice freedom in every facets including what someone wants to eat!”

Michael Bitwinski - “Do your actual research, Mayor Adams, before touting information that are simply opinion based.”

Ameer Abdul-Badee - “Don’t succumb to the will of the mob. At least listen to what Rodgers and Wolf have to say and do some independent research from meat advocates.”

Casey Bradford - “if you want to help the health of kids: ban soda, ban processed foods! Not meat!”

David Mercer - “Moderation in everything.”

Jay Ros - “Meat is not what's destroying our health. It's excess sugar, carbohydrates, processed foods, vegetable seed oils, and frequent eating. Meat is the most nutrient dense and least irritating food one can eat. Please look into the research and science behind what is causing most metabolic disease in the USA. Meat is crucial for the physical and mental development of the adolescence.”

Ben Williamsen - “Please come back to reality. Meat is NOT unhealthy. It is NECESSARY!”

Cassie Aldrich

Kelvis Cedeno - “Protein is essential to child growth. Please stop this meatless madness.”

Valerie Groszmann

Nicholas Harley - “Please rethink this policy. By restricting children's access to animal source foods you are denying them key nutrients that are essential for healthy growth and mental development. These nutrients are not present (or are less bioavailable) in plant source foods. Furthermore, increasing the stigma attached to animal source foods will inevitably lead to diets higher in refined carbohydrates and ultra-processed food which are driving the global burden of disease. It is one thing to promote plant-based diets in adults. It is another altogether to do so in children. Please rethink this policy!”

Tony Gordon

Ann Diefendorf - “Not only is meat vital in our children's diets so are whole foods like whole milk. We need to get whole milk and 2 % milk choice back on the menu.”

Scott Eskew

Lee Diller

Wendy Sproule

Jenny Colwell

Mary McGuire

Greer Taylor - “As much as veganisim might seem a lovely way to go it is not - it is highly damaging to the bodies of those who eat it (especially if it is highly processed) It is also damaging to the environment! Land needs WELL managed animal impact to thrive, land deteriorates over time if only grains and vegetables are grown on it! Please ensure that children are give the best diet possible one that gives their bodies what they really need and one that teaches them how to truly understand how look after land.”

Alison Mori

Collette Murphy - “Do you even know the facts Mayor Adams. Stop putting the health of these kids at risk and give them some healthy food cooked from scratch!”

Kat McAra - “As someone who had IBS for almost all of my life and finally solved it by removing most plant fiber I find the idea of trying to encourage kids to eat more plant-based a really bad idea. Everyone has different genetics and meat is super nutrient dense and has more bioavailable protein than harder to digest beans etc. Please read this article that explains how some people do fine on a plant-based diet but others really suffer. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/4-reasons-some-do-well-as-vegans”

Sergei Razgonjajev

Mike Rucker

Simon Horvat

Laila Charlesworth - “As an evidence-based nutritionist my concern is that ultra-processed vegan foods will be served to children. In addition, the option of choice is removed from children.”

Bruce Carney - “I agree with Diane”

Cassandra Bond - “Feed children real food that humans have been eating for thousands of year. The real food is meat. Children don't need empty carbohydrates and poisonous food chemicals to tasty thing up, nor vegetable oils that go hard in the frypan. Real food doesn't come from a factory. Real food feeds the body. Real food doesn't lead to an illness that you have to live with for the rest of your life. Please let our children eat well.”

Kristine Cabanban

Teydin Romanowsky

Nicole West

Linda Peairs - “Speaking as a former vegetarian and as a US citizen, I believe every adult has the right to choose their own diet. However, the vegan diet requires expensive supplementation. For example, if vegan kids do not get B12, they can suffer irreversible brain damage. Parents should have the right to choose a more nutrient dense option for their children. Politicians who are not trained in nutrition should not make this kind of decision for other people's children.”

Diane Fischler

Hamish Bielski - “What is our world coming too??”

Julia Vesna

Breana Dahl

Laura Shaw

Michele Blumberg

Helen Paver - “To Whom this may concern, Please accept my signing of this letter as full and strong support for the letter written by Diana Rodgers”

Steve Bloom

John Blank

Amanda Field - “The kids will be starving very shortly after eating a meal like that. How can they concentrate in class with their grumbling tummies. Especially as this is their main meal for some children. Meat is essential to sustain and for their growing bodies. Don't impose your "preferences" on to them. Give them options and let them decide. I can bet I know which option they will choose. Not a good start Mayor Adams.”

Rob Matthews - “Removing important nutrients from food by only serving vegan food on Fridays denies children and their families the right to choose to eat healthy, and will likely have much worse health outcomes for the next generation.”

Brian Forsythe - “Beef is a species-specific food, important for human development, especially for children. Pushing your beliefs and agenda through the school lunch program is a selfish move on your part.”

Yekaterina Benson

Sarah Jenkins

Esther Blum

Andrew Ecans - “Please use science over ideology when implementing policy especially ones that will have direct negative impact on thousands of children in NYC schools. I support offering vegan choices, but to replace meat and dairy on Fridays with ultra processed microwaveable burrito is not healthy and will not save the environment. Meat is macro and micronutrient dense, which is good for growing children!”

Karl Neuffer

Rene Ruiz

Sydnee Stoyles

Collette Murphy - “Do you even know the facts Mayor Adams. Stop putting the health of these kids at risk and give them some healthy food cooked from scratch!”

Mirela Selimovic

Joseph Armas

Nancy Merz

Bron Clarke - “Please tackle fast foods & sugary drinks instead.”

Julie Omiatek

Inge Nilsen-Nygaard - “Vegan diet for children is child abuse. STOP IT !!”

Debbie Lyons-Blythe - “Some school aged kids rely on school lunch and breakfast for the only healthy meals of the day. Don't cut these kids short on important nutrition that beef and other meats provide! They might not get those nutrients any other way!”

Erin Meschke - “Kids need the amino acids only found in and assimilated from properly raised animal products. factory farms are a horrible crime to humanity, broth health and the environment. but pasture-raised animals offer an incredible benefit to humanity and restoration of the soil. please abandon this detrimental vegan agenda for the sake of the children of New York City.”

Paulo Augusto Franke - “Please listen to the science, Mayor Adams. Vegangelism preaching does not have a say, when it comes to nutrition science.”

Brandi Powell

Erin Kennedy - “Our children need meat, they do not need to be psychologically manipulated by political agendas.”

Nikki Volz

Maria Luís - “Keto lifestyle and carnivore is the way of living healthy”

Sarah Henderson - “Please give nutrition to the children not an agenda!”

Catherine McCauley - “Please change the school lunches for kids. They are not going home with foods that are nutritious, healthy, hunger satiating and overall healthful for them. Thank you.”

Caroline Grambo - “Please don't force kids to eat nutrient poor foods.”

Amy Taft - “Schools are for education, not indoctrination. Do the right thing - bring animal protein back into schools 5 days a week to give these students the greatest opportunity to thrive as possible.”

James Lewis

Steve Buss - “Stop depriving children of the healthiest most nutritious food on Earth ! Start promoting whole foods ..plant and animal. Sugar , refined carbs, and processed oils are the enemy !”

Clay Enos

Rosalia Pilar Baca - “Few of my grandson's NYC classmates are vegan. A truly nutritious vegan diet is very hard to achieve and shouldn't be imposed on all children. Offering vegan options for vegan children seems reasonable. Don't impose this on all children!”

Tom Mullen

Peggy Lucas

Justin Whited - “Children need high quality protein to grow properly. I’m sure Mayor Adams knows non-animal proteins are of lower quality than those we get from consuming animals. So while the diet may work in some fashion for him as a full grown adult it will most certainly set those children back in their physical development. I hope he reconsiders his policy.”

Will Simmons - “Processed foods are the issue, not meat. You would be much better served removing processed foods form campus than nutritious foods like beef.”

William O'Brien

Anita Kendall

Eleonore Oppenheim

Sadie Moazzam

Noumia Cloutier-Gill

Leslie Lepeska - “Let's ban junk food instead of nourishing food! Meat has nourished human beings for all of our history, junk food is the new and troublesome element in our modern diets.”

Tiffany Domon

Kelly Taylor

Christopher Sorby - “Veganism is not science, it's a flawed ideology. Promoting such a diet and creating a narrative is dangerous, and at the same time it's contributing to modern chronic diseases along with the processed food industries profits.”

Becky Cassel - “Kids should be eating whole foods as much as possible. Ultra-processed 'foods' with added sugars and processed seed oils are destroying the health of our population. Providing these 'foods' to our children is contributing to chronic diseases and obesity-related diseases. Meat, especially beef, is not the enemy. Meat is full of vital nutrients that are in a readily available and absorbable form. Meat, included with other healthy foods like fruits and vegetables, are what our children should be eating to promote health for a lifetime. Do not let these ultra-processed food companies win by telling our children the only way they can eat is to buy ready-made 'food' from these companies. Children should learn they can easily eat real, healthy food that they can easily make themselves, and that is simple like meat, fruit, and veggies.”

Adam Causley - “If my school imposed this rule I would be the first to dispute it with real dietary facts.”

Megan Rossi

Asher Strunk - “My health improved in every way when I began eating meat again after a seven year period of eating plant-based. Eating nutrient dense meats every day has improved my mood and ability to focus, digestion, body composition, athletic performance and sleep, just to name a few improvements. I would hate for children to be forced to choose less nutrient-dense and more highly processed foods because administrators erroneously believe it is more healthy. It’s not.”

Amber Cesare

Holly Blaney - “Americans have the right to choose the food they eat. Children need the nutrients contained in foods you are eliminating.”

Charles Anacker - “Sir, you are doing a real disservice to the children on NYC schools with Meatless Mondays and Vegan Fridays. You are also being misadvised about your own Vegan diet. Growing children and aging adults like me (75 years old) have greater protein and fat requirements as children are building their bodies and older adults who are less capable of absorbing protein need to have higher quantities and denser qualities of protein to repair and restore their bodies. I hope that you will research your public and private choices to enhance the diets of the children of NYC schools and your own health.”

Kristen Mitteness

Catherine Sloan-Gallagher

Brooks Ford

Vic Manzella - “Big Ag has already (intentionally or not) pushed many of our youth into the arms of Big Pharma. Please reconsider a plan that can only make this situation even worse.”

Brian Klein - “Using a vegan diet to overcome a disease state of a grown adult man caused by a bad standard American diet is a fully different thing than reducing the meat intake of growing children that depend on many different vital nutrients, from both plants and animals.”

Dot Squier - “… then can we look at what is fed to Care Home residents, like my husband, according to the UK’s dietary recommendations, which were incorrect 40 years ago. (I add various things, in line with how I fed him for 30 years). Thanks for the campaign for NY kids”

Ursula Fastovsky

Hannah Graham - “It is dangerous to impose one way of eating onto kids -- just like they should have the choice of being vegan, keto, pescatarian or anything, so too should they have the choice of what to eat and learn to listen to their bodies in order to pick the best food choices for themselves.”

Sophia Lewis - “We have an epidemic of childhood obesity from too many calories without nutrition. A vegan Friday of more processed food devoid of substantial nutrition is only adding not solving the problem. This is the wrong message to give to our youth, we need to educate them on real food.”

Mae McKinley

Cole Bauman

Alex Polemeropoulos - “Kids need historically nutritious foods for their developing bodies. Meat is what their bodies need. Enough with the processed fake foods. Their future depends on nutrition, not profitable garbage.”

De Leeuw Rogier - “Please please stop this disasterous plan, be happy with your ownchoise but donot create this kind op problem for children they have the right to get nutritious well balanced food”

Sandra Caccamise - “Vegan diets are entirely inappropriate for a captive audience of largely food insecure, not fully grown humans.”

Maynard Beery - “Thank you for being a watch dog for healthy food”

Veronica Kartous - “Vegan food for children should be forbidden though they need protein from meat for their brains. Protein from plants is almost impossible to digest and humans can't absorbe it properly.”

Tom Maha

Claudia Cremonini

Shannon Prince

Sam Don - “Thank you immensely for what you do”

Laura Fordyce

Charles Nault - “Everyone says "follow the science" yet so few actually take the time to truly understand the difference between agenda based paid studies masquerading as science, and actual science based on unbiased, large scale cause and effect. If you do take the time, you will learn the truth. Regenerative farm animals have always been and are still essential to human health.”

Gillian Haley

Elizabeth Humphreys - “It is immoral and unjust to deprive kids of nutrition purely on the ideology of people who will be unaffected by this law. Low income kids in particular will be disadvantaged by this elitist proposal that assumes everyone has access the the supplements that attempt to replace the nutrition gained from meat. It is also bad for the environment to encourage shipping produce from far away (that can't be grown near NYC in the winter) to make up for nutritional deficits and to buy into an economy that supports monoculture growing and a lack of biodiversity. Lastly, replacement meat products are controlled by large corporations, we should be buying more from small local farmers.”

Catherine Johnson

Juan Reyna - “Our kids are our future. Raise them with strength”

T Casey - “Meat is essential. It's the most nutrient dense food. Easiest on the majority of people's stomachs”

Ocea Wraye

Karen Zapadka

Amy Avila - “I completely agree with Diana and believe that you should not forbid children to eat meat.”

James Jenkins - “Setting these kids up for nutrient deficiencies.”