15 Brooklyn Public Schools Now Offer 'Meatless Mondays'

Following suit with meatless elementary schools in New York City, 15 public schools in Brooklyn have signed on to adopt "meatless Mondays" as part of their regular lunch rotation. An adorable, polo-clad child named Andy Salas announced the decision recently during Mayor Bill de Blasio's visit to the already-meatless school P.S. 1.

The mayor is enthused about the pioneer idea, stating that, "At Gracie Mansion we are now going to be instituting Meatless Mondays as well," referencing his own home, "and that will be for our family meals and for the events we have at Gracie Mansion and when we have guests over for dinner."

While this will be a challenge for the mayor himself, his two children, Chiara and Dante, are already "strict vegetarians" and have been since middle school. It makes sense that this change is being made in New York, decidedly the best city for vegans — and proponents hope it will inspire change in other regions.

The mayor made the announcement as kids hungrily chowed down on their meatless meal of bagels, toasted cheese, tomato, and a side of potato wedges.

"Even if you had a bacon, egg, and cheese this morning, you still should want to see more and more of our diets go to a plant-based approach," de Blasio said, explaining to the attending children that plant-based options have immense benefits for the environment and nutritional value of meals. "It's good for everyone."

The borough's president, Eric Adams, is on board with the swap, having endured his own health-related drama from poor nutrition. Adams recalled being afflicted with blindness due to complications from diabetes. Since that time, he has reversed the symptom through his exercise and diet changes.

"We are digging our graves with our knives and forks," Adams insisted.

But apparently, the next generation is ready to make a change. The "Meatless Monday" initiative was student-driven, rather than imposed on kids from the outside.

"I am very proud of all the students," de Blasio told his young audience in the cafeteria announcement. "They made a decision based on their own experience and their own values that they wanted to live healthier and they wanted to do something that they thought would be good for the earth as well."

Though these Mondays' trays won't be filled with chicken nuggets or hot dogs, we're confident the students of these schools are in for some delicious meatless meals.