Serving Animals by Default Is a Political Choice

Let’s get one thing clear: flesh is already the default. At schools. At hospitals. At government buildings. At City Hall. And Zack Polanski - deputy leader of the UK’s Green Party - just suggested flipping that script.

He called on Sadiq Khan to introduce plant-based meals by default at City Hall. Not banning flesh. Not removing choice. Just making the animal-free option the starting point -  just like meat is now.

And Khan’s response?

"We’ve got a good balance."

Good balance for who, exactly?

Because it’s not working for animals. It’s not working for the climate. And it’s definitely not working for the one in five children in the UK who can’t afford to eat properly.

Default Isn’t Neutral - It’s Political

Right now, walking into a public canteen means being served flesh, milk, and eggs by default - unless you speak up and request otherwise. That system doesn’t feel political because it's the norm. But it is. Every default is a choice, and it says something.

It says who matters. It says what kind of future we're planning for. It says whose interests get protected - and whose lives get overlooked.

Polanski’s ask was simple: let’s make the default kind. Let’s make it just. Let’s make it plant-based.

Default Shapes the World

You don't need to ban everything to create change. You just need to change what’s assumed. The default. The path of least resistance.

Right now, the path leads to cages, slaughter, emissions, and inequality.

Polanski offered another way forward. One that saves money. One that protects children. One that doesn’t rely on killing.

It’s time to stop defending outdated habits as if they’re sacred. They’re not. They’re just defaults. And we can choose better ones.

No One’s Taking Your Pig Bap

The fear-mongering over “plant-based by default” plays out like clockwork: they’re coming for your cheese toastie. But that’s not what’s happening.

Under this proposal, flesh and dairy don’t disappear. They’re just no longer assumed. If someone wants to eat animals, they still can - but they’ll have to say it out loud. They’ll have to opt in.

And that small shift matters. Because normalising plant-based meals changes public perception. It tells the truth: it’s not radical to eat plants - it’s radical to keep killing when we don’t have to.

Let’s Talk About the Children

Flesh is currently compulsory on school menus in the UK. That’s not a joke. By law, animals must be served to children in public schools - even when cheaper, healthier, and more sustainable options exist.

So while kids are going hungry, while parents can’t afford fruit, while 20% of families are in food poverty, schools are legally obliged to serve flesh.

Polanski pointed out that plant-based meals could save the NHS £54.9 million a year - money that could go into better produce, local growers, and meals that don’t come with a side of saturated fat and suffering.

Why are we force-feeding inequality and animals to children, when there’s a better option?

The Climate Crisis Isn’t Waiting

“A third of human-caused emissions come from food,” Polanski reminded us. And the number one contributor? Animal agriculture.

If we want serious climate action, we can’t just swap plastic straws and call it a day. We need systemic change - and food is one of the easiest places to start.

A plant-based default in public institutions isn’t just symbolic. It sends a clear message: the era of endless animal use is over. The future is plant-based - and we’re building it now.

The Cruelty-Free Manifesto

This isn’t some fringe fantasy. Polanski and Viva! gathered over 100 experts in food justice, sustainability, and health to draft a Cruelty-Free Manifesto for London. Among its recommendations:

- Make public catering plant-based by default

- Adopt a cruelty-free supply chain

- Promote plant-based living through education and campaigns

- Fund local food growing initiatives

- Work with London’s vegan health professionals

This isn’t about restriction - it’s about liberation. From climate destruction. From corporate welfare. From a food system that treats animals as units and children as afterthoughts.

Khan’s Missed Opportunity

Faced with this practical, evidence-based proposal, Khan defaulted to - well - the default.

Choice, he said. Balance, he said. But the current system isn’t balanced. It’s skewed. It protects the status quo at all costs, even when that status quo involves killing sentient beings and underfeeding schoolchildren.

This was a chance to lead. To prove London takes climate justice, food inequality, and compassion seriously. Instead, he shrugged it off.

What’s Actually Radical?

Serving corpses to schoolchildren like it's normal.

Serving cows’ milk out of every public coffee machine like we don’t already have better options.

Funding the industries most responsible for environmental breakdown with public money, while pretending it’s about “choice.”

Plant-based by default isn’t radical - it’s overdue.