Assessing the viability of a more sustainable approach to school meals

We set out to assess the viability of rolling out a more sustainable approach to school meals in Wales. This is what we found. 

The Welsh context – from local to global

The rollout of universal primary free school meals (UPFSM) and update of the school food regulations (Healthy Eating in Schools Measure 2009) presents Wales with a unique opportunity to look beyond nutrition and actually embed social and environmental sustainability standards into school meals in Wales. Healthy food is wider than just nutrition. It extends all the way to the healthy functioning of ecosystems, as healthy ecosystems are the foundation of global food security, providing essential services like pollination and soil fertility. Incorporating environmental standards into public food policy and practice is an urgent course of action. Given that public services are meant to protect and support public health and well-being, we should not be undermining this by sustaining a broken food system that contributes to environmental decline, negative social impacts overseas, such as child labour, and worsening health outcomes from the impacts of ultra-processed foods (UPFs) at home. (It is currently estimated that around 66% of children’s diets is made up of UPFs). ¹

Currently, Wales spends £84.7 million on public food every year, ² with much of this food either coming from overseas (e.g. Thai chicken in school meals) ³ and/or carrying the risk of embedded deforestation and habitat conversion through soy and palm-based livestock feed. In fact, around 80 per cent of Wales’ soy imports are fed directly to livestock, with poultry consuming over half. ⁴ The intensive production of soy in countries such as Brazil, is driving deforestation and biodiversity loss, as well as the abuse of Indigenous Peoples’ rights. ⁵ Phosphate-rich soy, excreted by poultry, is also contributing to river pollution here in Wales. ⁶ In terms of food security and resilience, currently, the UK relies on food imports to provide over 40% of domestic consumption. ⁷

In addition to soy, UPFs are strongly linked, through the inclusion of palm oil and palm derivatives, to deforestation and habitat conversion in countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia, where critical habitats and species are under threat. Not only are these foods (or rather “edible food-like substances”) ⁸  linked to rising rates of obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other negative health outcomes, ⁹  but they are also damaging critical ecosystems that help regulate our climate and provide the key ingredients for life to thrive on our planet. 

Analysis

With all this in mind, Size of Wales and WWF-Cymru commissioned global sustainability consultancy, Eunomia, to assess the viability of rolling out a Livewell / Deforestation Free menu in Welsh schools. The Livewell diet is a remodelling by WWF-UK of the current Eatwell guidance. It aims to provide nutritious healthy food, meeting UK nutritional recommendations and dietary guidelines, while minimising GHG emissions and other environmental impacts, and be socially acceptable. Size of Wales’ Deforestation Free Champions campaign works with public bodies, businesses, schools and communities to raise awareness of the impacts of forest-risk commodities and take action to reduce their deforestation footprint overseas. 

Eunomia assessed options for several key ingredients that appear frequently on school menu cycles, analysing the cost, nutritional value, associated CO2e emissions, ¹⁰ and wider social and environmental impacts, including deforestation and habitat conversion. Five products were selected covering a range of forest-risk commodities, including beef from South America, soy-fed chicken, dairy from cows fed on soy/palm, cacao and palm oil, and assessed against potential replacement ingredients, including ethically sourced options.

What were the results? 

The research analysis concluded that a Livewell and deforestation free school menu in Wales would provide many environmental and socio-economic opportunities, including reducing Wales’ deforestation footprint overseas, supporting nature recovery, reducing carbon emissions and building resilience to extreme weather on farms, supporting the transition to nature-friendly farming practices, improving children’s physical and mental health and educational attainment , increasing demand for local food (supporting Welsh farmers and rural economies), improving the livelihoods of farmers and growers internationally, and reducing costs for schools through cheaper ingredients, such as pulses.

The report also identified potential barriers and risks to rolling out a Livewell / DF menu, including complex and partial data availability on different types of animal protein based on production practices, differences between and a lack of transparency in some ethical certifications, reduced appeal due to the inclusion of unfamiliar foods, such as pulses and beans, increased costs, e.g., due to staff training and more costly ingredients (such as organic chicken), resistance to change and a lack of buy-in, and a lack of supply chain transparency and school food monitoring.

Regarding meat and dairy, the report’s message is clear – we must adopt a “less, but better” model of production and consumption. Our current rate of meat consumption is not sustainable, even if we were to adopt more ethical production practices across the board – and these practices are vital to reduce the risks posed by global warming and nature loss. 

In a school meal context, a “less but better” model might include the same recipes, but using ethically sourced ingredients, reformulated recipes using a mixture of ethically sourced animal and plant proteins to reduce meat consumption, fewer meat-based dishes and more plant-based dishes per tri-weekly menu cycle. When meat and dairy is sourced, it should be sourced from Welsh suppliers where animals are reared within healthy ecosystems, favouring natural diets on well-managed farms delivering high welfare. This could include organic and/or regenerative production practices where production standards are evidenced. Schools and local authorities should work with the whole school community, involving children and parents in the design process to facilitate behaviour change and increase the uptake of free school meals. These changes would benefit children in numerous ways, including by increasing their access to a wider variety of healthy foods, improving educational attainment, and supporting their long-term health and well-being.

In terms of palm oil, reducing the prevalence of UPFs in school meals is the first key step – which would benefit children’s health outcomes – followed by the use of palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). This should come from fully traceable supply chains, i.e. Segregated or Identity Preserved, rather than Mass Balance or RSPO credits, which are not consistent with a deforestation free approach. Regarding cacao, simply switching to Fairtrade cocoa/chocolate is an easy fix to reduce the risk of embedded social and environmental impacts, though of course, we might expect to see a reduction of sweetened, cocoa-based dishes due to the nutritional regulations update.

Underpinning all of this activity at the public food and consumer-end of the supply chain has to be strong food policy in Wales, including an overarching food strategy that promotes local, sustainable Farm to Fork supply chains and prioritises only ethically sourced products from overseas. Looking at the wider trade context, the UK Government must operationalise robust due-diligence legislation – part of the Environment Act (2021) – to prevent deforestation and habitat conversion from being imported in the first place. Major supermarkets and retailers are already calling for this and for the UK legislation to align with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR), which will come into force in December 2026, and will impact many British businesses exporting products to the EU. 

Despite commitments at COP26 in Glasgow to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030, the UK, and the world, remains far from the zero-deforestation pathway. While some gains have been made, there is still so much more to do. In Wales, we now have an opportunity for the public sector to lead the way and adopt a fairer, and more sustainable approach to public food provision. Let’s not waste it.

We are not alone in calling for change. Food Policy Alliance Cymru – a coalition of organisations and stakeholders building and promoting a collective vision for the food system in Wales – echoes our call through its manifesto “Put Food at the Heart of Welsh Government”.

Author: Angie Kirby is the Policy Manager at Size of Wales