First All Vegan Elementary School

MUSE vegan schoolFirst it was Meatless Mondays, a public health campaign associated with the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Biltmore city schools went first and were followed by a number of other public and private schools. At last count 53 school districts have jumped aboard. Then two New York City public schools went completely vegetarian. Now, a private elementary school in California has gone all vegan.

The MUSE School in Calabasas, California, will complete a transition to an all-vegan menu beginning in the fall. Though at least one school has gone vegetarian, MUSE is believed to be the first primary or secondary school in the nation to go entirely vegan. MUSE was founded by actress Suzy Amis Cameron and her sister Rebecca Amis in 2006, with a focus on sustainability. According to spokeswoman Jennifer Mau, MUSE’s board and administration made the decision to go vegan last spring.

Almost as special is that nearly half of the produce will be sourced from on campus gardens and greenhouses, thanks to the school’s Seed to Table initiative, which grows about 200 different varieties. Fifth grader turned part-time gardener Emma Leyson is proud of her greens and says to a reporter, “This is the strawberry plant I planted.” As part of their curriculum, the students learn how to create food from seed to table. “The other day, we made tomato soup, and I grew rosemary and it was in the soup and I was excited” said the young Emma.

It’s another veg first. We couldn’t be more proud of both students, parents and teachers.