Vegan Education in Schools, Colleges & Universities

This session explores vegan-inclusive education, plant-based catering, and veganism in schools, colleges, and universities.

Laura Chepner, author of ‘An Educator’s Guide for Vegan-Inclusive Teaching’ and Education Officer at The Vegan Society, will share insights on advocating for vegan learners and supporting educators, including a CPD certification.

Orin Cooley – Green, Coordinator for Plant-Based Universities, will discuss the Animal Rising campaign urging universities to adopt 100% plant-based catering.

Michelle St John, founder of VinE (Veganism in Education), will present her initiative supporting educators interested in teaching empathy from a vegan perspective.

Martin Skingley, ProVeg’s Education Manager, will talk about the ‘Canteen to Classroom’ initiative, educating children on food origins, production, health benefits, and environmental impacts.

Natasha Bailey from Animal Aid will highlight their education team’s achievements, including over 550 talks and workshops in UK schools and colleges in 2023 and the Universities Challenged Campaign against animal experimentation.

Takeaways

”The panel aims to inspire transformative change in education by promoting compassion, critical thinking, plant-forward climate action, and vegan perspectives, while highlighting available resources to empower ethical and responsible global citizens.”

Calls to Action

Orin – Sign up to set up a campaign at your university or if not a student, encourage others to do so. They can sign up (or donate) on our website: https://www.plantbaseduniversities.org/join

Martin – Reach out and engage with any primary schools you have a connection too (or not!) and point them in the direction of the Canteen to Classroom resources. Educating children on the impact of their food choices is essential in nurturing future generations that are both health and environmentally conscious.

Michelle – Educators, parents, and like-minded organizations can access VinE’s free classroom resources on ethical veganism, presented as both a religious and non-religious worldview. We are currently seeking educators interested in serving as vegan representatives on Standing Advisory Councils. https://teachvine.org/classroom-resources/re

Natasha – Help us to inform, inspire and empower young people! Apply to become a school speaker: www.animalaid.org.uk/education/request-school-speaker

Laura – If you are, or know someone, vegan and working in education please consider joining The Vegan Society’s Education Network Vegan-Inclusive Education | The Vegan Society

Further Resources

Orin – Folks can get in contact to [email protected] if they’re interested in learning more about a particular topic.

Martin – We care passionately about the food we serve to school children and want them to thrive, nourished by good food they love. Our core programme School Plates supports local authorities, multi-academy trusts, individual school caterers: helping them make small changes to school menus that can have a big impact on our children’s health and the health of the planet too.

Michelle – VinE and the Vegan Organic Network (VON) are working on a school-based educational initiative to deepen children’s understanding of ethical, ecological, and vegan organic growing practices, empowering them to help create a more just, compassionate, and sustainable world. https://teachvine.org/project-area/sustainability-from-a-vegan-perspective

Natasha – Help us reach even more young people! If you are a teacher, book a school talk or if you are a parent, encourage your child’s teacher to book one: www.animalaid.org.uk/education/request-school-speaker

Laura – Spread the news about our free CPD accredited school training CPD Accredited Training Enquiry Form | The Vegan Society

Building on legal protection for vegans: normalising a culture of inclusion

Veganism is protected under the European Convention on Human Rights and is recognised as a protected characteristic under British equality law. However, the application of these protections in day-to-day life, especially in educational settings, remains inconsistent. In this insightful talk, Laura Chepner, Education Officer at The Vegan Society and Chair of the Education Network, will delve into how these legal rights can be leveraged to foster a culture of genuine inclusion for vegans.

Laura’s talk will highlight how, despite legal protections, vegan learners and their families continue to experience discrimination, both directly and indirectly, within schools and educational institutions. Drawing on her own lived experiences, as well as real-life queries and complaints from vegan parents, guardians, and learners, she will outline the practical challenges they face and the strategies used to overcome them.

Through her work, Laura and the Education Network have developed comprehensive resources to empower vegan parents and learners while educating teachers and school administrators on their legal obligations. These resources aim to ensure that vegan inclusion becomes an essential practice, aligned with the rights that come with veganism as a protected belief.

In this talk, Laura will demonstrate how she is building on the legal protections for vegans, actively working to normalise a culture of inclusion through education. By turning legal frameworks into everyday practices, her work ensures that schools and educators adhere to the rights of vegan learners, creating a more inclusive and respectful learning environment for all.

Note that this talk replaces the original panel ”The Legal Protection of Vegans and Normalizing Vegan Inclusion” which has been unavoidably cancelled at short notice