USDA allows more vegetable protein in school meals

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March 10, 2000

Web posted at: 9:39 AM EST (1439 GMT)

 

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The U.S. Agriculture Department Thursday said it will

let school cafeterias substitute more veggie burgers for hamburgers as a source

of protein in kids' diets, winning plaudits from some nutritionists but

criticism from beef producers.

 

The department, citing new studies on protein content in non-meat foods, removed

the previous requirement that only 30 percent of protein in school meals come

from vegetable sources such as veggie burgers made partly from soybeans.

 

The department also changed the requirement that protein sources other than meat

would have to be fortified with zinc and iron. The USDA said the two

requirements were based on old data from the mid-1980s that have now been proven

false.

 

" These changes provide menu planners with more flexibility to incorporate these

products into their menus along with the traditional protein sources of meat,

poultry and seafood, " the Agriculture Department said in a Federal Register

notice.

 

The requirements were also lifted from the school breakfast program, the summer

food service and other domestic food aid programs for both children and adults.

 

'It's a long time coming'

 

U.S. school cafeterias serve more than 35 million subsidized breakfasts and

lunches each day to poor children.

 

The Vegetarian Resource Group welcomed the proposal, citing a recent study that

found that children from eight and 12 years old are becoming vegetarians at

twice the rate of adults.

 

" It's a long time coming, " Suzanne Havala, a registered dietitian and adviser

for the Vegetarian Resource Group, said, predicting that veggie burgers will now

become a popular item on school cafeteria menus.

 

" Those products taste so good nowadays that lots of people are eating them, "

Havala said.

 

'Soy isn't really meat'

 

But meat industry groups, including the National Cattlemen's Beef Association,

criticized the changes, noting that government studies show that kids are not

getting enough nutrients in their diets already and dropping the regulations on

vegetable protein will only make the problem worse.

 

" We feel that USDA has been quite irresponsible, " said Mary Young, executive

director of nutrition at the cattlemen group.

 

" Soy really isn't beef, " she said. " It is not a nutritional substitute for beef.

It is already placing at-risk children at risk for nutritional deficiency. "

 

The government originally proposed the change in July and received 635 comments

from the public. Only 16 respondents objected to the changes, the Agriculture

Department said.

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