Greener By Default at the University of Victoria
"Make plant-based food the default and give people the choice to opt in for meals with animal products. Greener by Default is inclusive, reduces your carbon footprint, and increases the healthfulness of your meals."
November 12, 2022
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed The Child Nutrition Act of 2022 (Assembly Bill 558), which incentivizes public elementary and high schools across the state to offer healthier, climate-friendly, plant-based meals and beverages.
PCRM, April 1, 2022
WASHINGTON, D.C. —Trends in prediabetes among children aged 12 to 19 doubled in the last 20 years, according to a survey study published yesterday in JAMA Pediatrics. According to data from the U.S. government’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 1999-2018, 1 in 5 children has prediabetes. This trend, NHANES reported, stayed true across socioeconomic and other variables such as weight, household food security, race, and age.
In a message today to NHANES Director Ryne Paulose-Ram, MA, PhD, the Physicians Committee, a nonprofit group of 17,000 doctors, outlined key steps to curb this approaching health epidemic.
“Despite the prediabetes crisis among young people, there has been no large-scale, meaningful response from health leaders,” says Adjunct Professor of Medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine and President of the Physicians Committee Neal Barnard, MD, FACC. “Physicians Committee medical staff are prepared to assist in implementing the following strategy, which is a solid start to a response commensurate with the crisis at hand.” …
[ … Read more at PCRM ]
Leslie Raabe, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Jan. 27, 2022
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—The Child Nutrition Act of 2022 (AB 558), a bill co-sponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, passed the California State Assembly today. The bill incentivizes K-12 public schools across the state to offer healthier, climate-friendly plant-based meals and beverages.
“As the country continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, ensuring that California’s students have access to healthy plant-based meals that promote overall wellness and help support their immunity is a more urgent need than ever,” says Maggie Neola, RD, a dietitian with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine.
Diet-related conditions worsen COVID-19 cases, and children experiencing the effects of unhealthy eating that used to be reserved for adults—obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes—can benefit greatly from reducing meat and dairy consumption and increasing the amount of plant-based foods they eat. A better diet will improve children’s lives not only in the pandemic but for years to come.
California Assembly member Adrin Nazarian (D-46) authored the Child Nutrition Act of 2022. The bill will now move to the California State Senate for further consideration.
“Children in California need the nutritious plant-based meals that this legislation will provide,” adds Neola. “The Physicians Committee urges the California Senate to swiftly pass this bill and send it to Governor Newsom’s desk.”
Besides AB 558, the Physicians Committee advocates to expand access to plant-based school meals across the country, including working to pass New York bill A.301 / S.1726, which would give every student in New York public schools options for healthy plant-based foods.
The Physicians Committee has quantity plant-based recipes and other resources for students, parents, and schools at HealthySchoolLunches.org.
[… Read more at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine ]