Meatless Monday Dialogue Bears Fruit

As soon as the clock hits 12:35 p.m., students rush into the Main Hall, stomachs empty and the scent of food wafting through their noses. Plates are filled with whatever the kitchen has to offer for the day, and most days this includes meat. Whether it be chicken, beef, or even pepperoni, meat is a staple in almost every lunch served at Athenian. This only differs on Mondays.

It’s unclear as to when Meatless Mondays, began but Executive Chef Miguel Aguilar said that meatless meals “haven’t changed too much because…there’s not very many popular vegetarian dishes.”

Just because meals haven’t changed much, doesn’t mean that things have not changed at all. The Athenian School used to use artificial meat more often, affecting the budget of the kitchen as well as not being popular with students and staff. Miguel said a staff member complained about the excessive use of fake meat, so now the kitchen “serves it, but we don’t serve it as much as we used to.”

It’s not shocking that meat impacts the environment in a negative manner. According to the National Institutes of Health, the livestock industry contributes between 12 to 13% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. Meatless Mondays allow the staff and students of Athenian to reduce their environmental impact.

French and ESL teacher Kathleen Letellier said, “I like that it gives everybody an opportunity to have a day of not eating meat because I don’t think that’s a bad thing. We don’t need to eat meat every day…it feels like it’s probably better for the environment.”

The concept of Meatless Mondays contributes to Athenian’s environmentalism pillar and demonstrates consideration of the environment. Meatless Mondays can also make meals more convenient for students who don’t eat certain types of meat, or meat altogether.

“I don’t eat beef or pork so it’s a day I know I can eat the school lunch that day,” said sophomore Luci Santos.

It is also more convenient for vegetarian or vegan students since they are able to choose their own portion sizes instead of getting handed a plate by a staff member.

Upper School Director of Studies Gabe Del Real said, “Throughout the years, I think there are more students and adults who are vegetarian or vegan or have milk allergies. Things like that where one day when you're not participating in consuming animal products is ok."

Many students struggle with the meals themselves, but support the idea of Meatless Mondays. Freshman Skye Sarpong said, “I think Meatless Monday is good in concept, but often the foods are bland and sometimes lack protein.”

Many other students also struggled with the lack of protein, especially athletes. Freshman Amelia Weng said, “I think that most of the time they don’t include any protein. People, especially athletes, need protein. It is hard for people to get their protein goals when they don’t get protein during lunch because it is a full meal that they’re missing.”

Freshman Lyly Nguyen agreed, saying, “Especially being a person in sports and a lot of draining activities, in days without meat they usually don’t provide sufficient protein to give me energy to do those things.”

Many students said that they would prefer Meatless Mondays to have a wider variety of food that focuses on the meatless aspect instead of an abundance of carbs. Foods such as tofu or beans can be used in many different meals, and many different meals can be made from them.

This can be difficult for chefs, though. Miguel said, “For the kids, especially for middle school kids, it’s hard to find something they like. That’s why we do pastas and grilled cheese sandwiches because that is kid friendly.”

Meals that may seem more appetizing to older students and staff might not be appetizing to younger students, and it’s important to ensure everyone is getting fed.

If students are upset about Meatless Monday, they don’t always voice their criticisms to the right people.

“A lot of people complain about it, and the thing is, they think it’s [the kitchen staff] but it’s actually a school decision. [It] has nothing to do with us,” said Miguel.