ONE STEAK AT A TIME a school-wide questionnaire demonstrated that the pushback from some students meant eliminating meat completely on any single day was not a viable solution . We concluded that focusing on fundamental policy changes would provide significant impacts in terms of both scale and longevity .
The system of food supply in the UK is complicated by regulations , supply chains and stakeholders . We soon discovered this , as we , two Sixth Formers , tried to reduce our school ’ s carbon emissions through altering meat consumption .
Although this initiative materialised in the Michaelmas term , as a peer group , we have always agreed that reducing our community ’ s ecological footprint is a fundamentally good thing . However , we knew our individual actions could only go so far ; the small actions we can take are insignificant compared to the potential for change institutions and governments hold . Nevertheless , our desire for change aligned with the school ’ s Environmental Policy , which is committed to improving its environmental sustainability ‘ beyond legal and regulatory requirements ’. On top of that , the Headmaster , Mr Elzinga , placed ‘ environmentally sustainable practices ’ as a core element to the school ’ s strategic plan in sight of its 600th anniversary in 2032 .
We therefore chose to focus our efforts on effecting policy change to reinforce an existing appetite for reducing our ecological footprint . Previous attempts to introduce ‘ Meat-Free Mondays ’ were valuable , but
We began with a two-minute chat with one of our Divisional Heads , who was enthusiastic and put us in contact with the Catering department . From here , a series of email exchanges highlighted the sheer number of people who influence catering and eventually led us to a meeting with the Senior Deputy Head , Dr Ives , and the Head of Catering , Ms Rebecca Pogson ( Becky ). This allowed us to demonstrate the desire for change , while Dr Ives and Becky reconciled this with the need to meet regulations . These regulations required certain dishes that were allergen-free , diverse to meet cultural requests and nutritionally up to the standards set by governmental policies . Two months later , we were able to reduce the number of high-carbon meat options per week , while also meeting demand for nutritious , diverse and tasty meals . The changes involve a reduced number of beef and lamb dishes , a roadmap to increase vegetarian options incrementally and greater attention brought to students ’ capacity to bring about change in the school .
The ever-growing complexity of our world can be a deterrent to individuals from trying to mitigate the problems it creates . Many students at Sevenoaks genuinely want to bring about positive change , but we all sometimes feel a tension between our desire for genuine change , and a lack of sufficient means to do so . We hope this initiative may inspire others .
Solomon Anderson and Ferdinand Beier , Upper Sixth
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