HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

198

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the department of education to offer vegetarian meal options in all public schools at least once weekly.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, about thirty percent of the world's total ice-free surface is used to raise poultry, pork, and cattle that humans eventually eat; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are approximately 1.5 billion cows and bulls worldwide, with a single cow creating between seventy and one hundred twenty kilograms of methane a year; and

 

     WHEREAS, methane is a gas which has been proven to be more than twenty times more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide and has been linked directly to contributing to climate change; and

 

     WHEREAS, a reduction in meat consumption can be beneficial not only to the environment but to the health of Hawaii's students; and

 

     WHEREAS, a vegetarian diet has been shown to reduce the chances of developing diabetes, lower cholesterol, and decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease, among other benefits; and

 

     WHEREAS, offering vegetarian options can promote not only a healthy lifestyle for the state's youth but the making of environmentally conscious personal decisions; and

 

     WHEREAS, hundreds of schools across the United States, including Kamehameha Schools Maui, have already made the decision to support the health of students and to promote environmentally conscious eating and have adopted a "Meatless Monday" lunch program; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, that the Department of Education is urged to offer vegetarian meal options in all public schools at least once weekly; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Education is urged to introduce a "Meatless Monday" program to inform students about the health and environmental benefits of a vegetarian diet; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Education, and Superintendent of Education.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Vegetarian Meals at Public Schools At Least Once Per Week.