NYC public school cafeterias going vegan on Fridays

There are obvious environmental and health benefits to making the American diet more plant-based, but given the nutritional and caloric density that lean meat can offer, I'm not sure that depriving kids without enough good food at home the option to eat meat at school is a good thing.

I don't know what NYC public school is like compared to the average district, but doesn't the general problem of low quality, highly processed food in schools dwarf the issue of meat?

One might imagine moderately intelligent planning would move food costs even lower than they already are (for example, no meat substitute products, but instead things like bean patties). The management of various religious diets would become much easier as well. The head of the state DOC and the governor could take credit for spearheading a healthy eating initiative that improves the well-being of inmates and reduces recidivism, acts responsibly with taxpayer dollars, safeguards our environment, etc. Bonus points for crops grown locally or by the prison itself.

The latter isn't that uncommon: for example, Valley State Prison and the Central California Women's Facility (very close to one other in Chowchilla) are surrounded by orchards that are partially worked with prison labor, and whose produce goes to the entire state prison system.

I think calling these new meals “vegan” almost buries the lede, in that they are also the first meals made of vegetables.