Vegetarian Meals Research Articles

The impact of explaining vegetarian meal requests on the affective responses and perceptions of meat eaters

Social situations can present challenges for those looking to reduce or avoid eating meat. In an experimental vignette study with a large representative sample of 1,117 UK-based meat eaters, we explore affective responses to requests for vegetarian meals and perceptions of those making the request across four social situations: a BBQ, a pub, a restaurant dinner, and a dinner party. We examine moderators of these perceptions including whether the requester presents themselves as vegetarian or a meat restrictor and whether they cite health, environmental or no motives for their request. Overall, we find that these moderators have a greater impact on meat eaters’ perceptions of the requester than on their affective responses to the request. We also find that these outcomes are more impacted by the mention of motives than they are diet type. Standout findings include evidence that people citing environmental motives for their vegetarian meal request are perceived more negatively, while those with health motives are perceived more positively. We also identify substantial heterogeneity across the respondents’ levels of meat attachment: those who are more attached to meat have more negative perceptions of vegetarian meal requesters and experience higher negative affect and lower positive affect in response to the request.

Green Meal? The role of situational contexts for real-time vegetarian Meal choices

This study addresses the urgent need to decrease meat consumption by untangling in which situations urban citizens opt for vegetarian meals over meals that include meat. To do so, this study applies ecological momentary assessment (EMA) over three subsequent weeks with a sample of 82 participants and 1449 daily meal choices. Results indicate a significant association between individuals’ vegetarian meal choices and factors such as meal type, meal location, and presence of others – for instance, vegetarian meals are more likely to be eaten at breakfast, when people are at home, or when they are alone. Furthermore, individuals are much more likely to eat vegetarian when others in their company also eat a vegetarian meal. Beyond these physical and social contexts, the study finds that the likelihood of eating vegetarian decreases when people are happy, and increases when people are more relaxed in the meal situation. Based on these findings, the study offers practical recommendations for interventions targeting situations highly associated with meat consumption and calls for future research on causal evidence.

Increasing the Availability of Vegetarian Meals in Worksite Cafeterias – a randomized controlled trial

Increasing the Availability of Vegetarian Meals in Worksite Cafeterias – a randomized controlled trial

Greenhouse gas emissions of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries: A cross-sectional study.

Schools and early years settings provide an opportunity to promote healthy and sustainable food, but standards and guidance in England focus predominantly on nutritional quality. The present study estimated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries, including comparison between meal options. Menus, recipes and portion weights for lunches provided for 3-4-year-old children attending nine school nurseries were collected daily for one week. GHGE for each food and recipe were calculated using Foodprint functionality of Nutritics software. GHGE were calculated for each menu option (main, vegetarian, jacket potato and sandwich) provided in each school, and for meals with and without meat/fish. In total, 161 lunches including 273 foods were analysed. Median GHGE across all meals was 0.53 kgCO2e (i.e. kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent) per portion, with significantly higher GHGE associated with main meals (0.71 kgCO2e per portion) compared to all other meal types (0.43-0.50 kgCO2e per portion; p < 0.001) which remained after adjustment for meal size and energy density. Red meat-based meals were highest in GHGE (median 0.98 kgCO2e per portion and 0.34 kgCO2e per 100 g) and meals containing any meat/fish were significantly higher in GHGE (median 0.58 kgCO2e per portion) than vegetarian meals (median 0.49 kgCO2e per portion) (p = 0.014). Meals with higher adherence to the nutrient framework underpinning the early years guidelines had significantly higher GHGE than meals with lower adherence (p < 0.001). The results were comparable to previous estimates of school lunch GHGE and highlight variation by meal option. Consideration of GHGE alongside the nutritional quality of lunches by caterers could support provision of healthy and sustainable lunches.

Children's liking for vegetarian and non-vegetarian school meals at the scale of a French city

In Western countries, a behavioural shift towards more plant-based diets is helpful in protecting population and planet health. School canteens are an important public policy target to achieve this transition. Increasing the frequency of vegetarian meals in school canteens has been proposed as a solution to decrease greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining a good nutritional quality. However, vegetarian meals acceptance by children is key to limit unintended consequences such as increased food waste or increased nutritional inequalities. We aimed to examine children's liking for vegetarian and non-vegetarian main dishes at school canteens; and whether it varied across socioeconomic level. Connected scoring devices displaying a five-point smiley scale were installed in all the 38 primary school canteens of a French city, located in socially diverse neighbourhoods. Every day after their school lunch, children were asked to rate the main dish they had just eaten. During one school year, from September 2021 to June 2022, we collected 208,985 votes for 125 main dishes, including 32 vegetarian (i.e., no meat or fish) and 93 non-vegetarian dishes, for an average of 1672 (SD 440) votes per day across the 38 school canteens. We showed no difference in children's liking for vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Additionally, the socioeconomic level of the schools was found to interact negatively with children's liking for vegetarian main dishes whereby vegetarian main dishes tended to be more liked in schools of lower socioeconomic level. In this French city, children's acceptance would not be a barrier to increase the frequency of vegetarian school meals and would not increase social dietary inequalities.

Machine learning techniques to identify risk factors of breast cancer among women in Mashhad, Iran.

Low survival rates of breast cancer in developing countries are mainly due to the lack of early detection plans and adequate diagnosis and treatment facilities. This study aimed to apply machine learning techniques to recognize the most important breast cancer risk factors. This case-control study included women aged 17-75 years who were referred to medical centers affiliated with Mashhad University of Medical Science between March 21, 2015, and March 19, 2016. The study had two datasets: one with 516 samples (258 cases and 258 controls) and another with 606 samples (303 cases and 303 controls). Written informed consent has been observed. Decision Tree (DT), Random Forest (RF), Logistic Regression (LR), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were applied using R studio software. Regarding the DT and RF, the most important features that impact breast cancer were family cancer, individual history of breast cancer, biopsy sampling, rarely consumption of a dairy, fruit, and vegetable meal, while in PCA and LR these features including family cancer, pregnancy number, pregnancy tendency, abortion, first menstruation, the age of first childbirth and childbirth number. Machine learning algorithms can be used to extract the most important factors in the diagnosis of breast cancer in developing countries such as Iran.

Unconventional Homogenized Vegetable Meal (HVM) Feed Ingredients on Skin Pigmentation and Weight Gain of Broiler Chickens

Unconventional Homogenized Vegetable Meal (HVM) Feed Ingredients on Skin Pigmentation and Weight Gain of Broiler Chickens

Willingness for more vegetarian meals in school canteens: Associations with family characteristics and parents’ food choice motives in a French community

The school meal system could contribute to the transition towards more sustainable food system by promoting plant-based meals. Knowing whether parents want more vegetarian school meals for their children is a prerequisite for a successful implementation. The present study aimed to estimate the proportion of parents who would opt for more vegetarian school meals for their children and to study associations of willingness with family characteristics and food choice motives. An online survey was sent to parents whose children are registered for school canteen in Dijon (France). We collected child-level information, data on family sociodemographic characteristics, and data on dietary habits and food choice motives of the family. We examined family characteristics associated with the willingness to increase the frequency of vegetarian school meals from one meal per week to two or daily. Generalized linear models were performed. In total, 49% of parents were willing to opt for a second weekly vegetarian meal and 26% for a daily vegetarian meal for their children (n = 1261). Parents willing to opt for more vegetarian meal were more likely to have higher education, be flexitarian or vegetarian and to currently opt for pork-free meals for their children, and their children attended the school canteen less frequently. Environmental motives were positively associated with the willing to opt for a second weekly vegetarian meal; familiarity and sensory appeal motives were negatively associated. Health and animal welfare motives were positively associated with the willing to opt for a daily vegetarian meal and sensory appeal was negatively associated. Increasing the frequency of vegetarian school meals would satisfy a demand expressed by parents but must be accompanied by interventions enhancing pleasure of eating vegetarian meals.

Nutrient values and sustainability of omnivorous, vegetarian and vegan choices in a hospital canteen

Abstract Background A plant-based diet has a lower environmental impact than an omnivorous diet and, when balanced, may reduce the risk of certain non-communicable diseases. The aim of our work is to evaluate the nutritional profile and sustainability of omnivorous, vegan and vegetarian choices in an Italian hospital canteen. Methods We photographed the midday meals of users in the hospital canteen of Palmanova (Italy) for 5 consecutive days in September 2022. We examined the recipes provided by the canteen and divided the meal trays in omnivorous, vegan and vegetarian. For each tray we estimated the carbon and water footprint using the SU-EATABLE LIFE database and the energy and nutrient content using the Italian Food Composition Database for Epidemiological Studies. Results We analysed 228 trays (167 omnivorous, 7 vegan, 54 vegetarian). Median energy content was higher (p &amp;lt; 0.05) in the omnivorous trays (942 kcal/tray) than the plant-based trays (813 kcal/tray). The omnivorous trays contained more fats (42 %E) and less carbohydrates (36 %E) than the plant-based trays (fats: 35 %E; carbohydrates: 44 %E) (p &amp;lt; 0.05). The carbon and water footprint were higher (p &amp;lt; 0.05) for the omnivorous meals (1202 gCO2eq/tray, and 1370 LH2O/tray) than for the plant-based meals, which had a median value of 687 gCO2eq/tray and 907 LH2O/tray. Conclusions Vegan and vegetarian meals were more in line with the Italian dietary reference values and more sustainable than omnivorous meals. Nutrition education is needed to improve the sustainability and quality of workers’ lunches and to ensure an adequate choice of plant-based meals. Key messages • Even if plant-based meals were more sustainable and nutrionally balanced than the omnivorous ones, they were less chosen. • Improving food choices can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

Modification of mechanical, rheological and structural properties of agar hydrogel using xanthan and locust bean gum

Agar is a valuable seaweed hydrocolloid that can form a high-firmness thermoreversible gel. With the increasing demand for vegetarian meals, agar can be used as a gelatin substitute with some modifications. In this study, we investigated the structural, mechanical, and rheological properties of a compound hydrogel using the agar/locust bean/xanthan gum (ALX). The different concentrations of hydrocolloids were optimized based on comparing the results of texture profile analysis of samples with high-bloom gelatin. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy tests confirmed the interaction between agar, locust bean and xanthan gum. The textural analysis results showed that the addition of locust bean gum (LBG) and xanthan gum (XG) to agar could significantly increase the springiness of agar hydrogel (AG) from 0.92 ± 0.00 to 1.00 ± 0.00, also decrease its hardness from 702.11 ± 5.99 to 343.31 ± 20.23 g (p < 0.05). Moreover, a remarkable decrease was shown in the syneresis degree of AG from 2.33 ± 0.02% to 0.52 ± 0.00%. All behaviors of the optimum hydrogel indicated the effective interaction of LBG and XG with AG which made the final compound hydrogel a promising alternative to high-bloom gelatin.

Promoting plant-based eating in meat-centric meal contexts: a field study.

Shifting from meat-centric to plant-rich diets may help to enable healthier and more sustainable food systems. Here we present the results of a 1-week intervention to promote plant-based eating in a meat-centric food context (i.e. canteen). The intervention included environmental restructuring strategies (e.g. promotional materials and menu redevelopment) and improvements to the offer of plant-based meals. The evaluation (sales data; pre-registered) spanned 3 weeks prior to the intervention (baseline), 1 week during the intervention (immediate/short-term impact) and 3 weeks after the intervention (follow-up). Opinion surveys were also used to collect data with customers during the intervention. Canteen unit of a university campus in Portugal (Lisbon metropolitan area). In addition to sales data (baseline: 7965 meals; immediate/short-term: 2635 meals; follow-up: 7135 meals), we used opinion surveys to assess customers' meal appraisals during the intervention (n = 370). The odds of a sold meal being vegetarian were 24 % higher in the intervention week compared with the pre-intervention period [OR = 1·24, 95 % CI (1·10, 1·40)] and 9 % higher in the post-intervention period compared with the pre-intervention period [OR = 1·09, (95 % CI (1·00, 1·19)]. Survey data showed that vegetarian meals compared favourably to meat and fish alternatives in liking, sustainability and satiety. A short-term, theory-driven, operationally feasible intervention was effective in promoting increased plant-based meal choices in a collective meal context. Nevertheless, these changes were not entirely sustained over time. Future studies could test whether prolonged or more transformative interventions are necessary to unlock entrenched food practices more effectively in meat-centric collective meal contexts.

Specific Blood Plasma Circulating miRs Are Associated with the Physiological Impact of Total Fish Meal Replacement with Soybean Meal in Diets for Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss).

High dietary SBM content is known to induce important physiological alterations, hampering its use as a major FM alternative. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) juveniles were fed two experimental diets during 9 weeks: (i) a FM diet containing 12% FM; and (ii) a vegetable meal (VM) diet totally devoid of FM and based on SBM (26%). Fish fed the VM diet did not show reduced growth performance when compared with fish fed the FM diet. Nevertheless, fish fed the VM diet had an increased viscerosomatic index, lower apparent fat digestibility, higher aminopeptidase enzyme activity and number of villi fusions, and lower α-amylase enzyme activity and brush border integrity. Small RNA-Seq analysis identified six miRs (omy-miR-730a-5p, omy-miR-135c-5p, omy-miR-93a-3p, omy-miR-152-5p, omy-miR-133a-5p, and omy-miR-196a-3p) with higher expression in blood plasma from fish fed the VM diet. Bioinformatic prediction of target mRNAs identified several overrepresented biological processes known to be associated with high dietary SBM content (e.g., lipid metabolism, epithelial integrity disruption, and bile acid status). The present research work increases our understanding of how SBM dietary content has a physiological impact in farmed fish and suggests circulating miRs might be suitable, integrative, and less invasive biomarkers in fish.

Chemical composition of chicken intestines pre-dried with vegetable meals: alternative protein for aquaculture

Objective. Characterizing the chemical composition of pre-dried chicken intestines with vegetable meal (VM), as an alternative source of protein for aquaculture. Materials and methods. Chicken intestines, powdered, cooked and defatted (CIGCD), were mixed individually with VM: rice powder (RP), wheat bran (WB), palm kernel cake (PKC), cornmeal (CM) and soybean meal (SBM), in proportions (w:w): 80:20, 70:30, 60:40, 50:50 and 40:60 (CIGCD:VM), for a total of 20 experimental treatments, according to a completely randomized design. Dry matter, crude protein, lipid, fiber, ashes, gross energy (MJ kg-1) and costs were evaluated. The principal component analysis (PCA) were applied to verify the interaction between proportions. Results. The proportions with higher levels of CIGCD, protein and lipid content increased (p&lt;0.05), with reduced cost (p&lt;0.05). Those with higher values of VM, fiber and ash showed high values (p&lt;0.05). The mixtures with SBM, high figures of protein, energy and costs (p&lt;0.05) and with PKC the lowest costs (p&lt;0.05). Conclusions. The proportions of CIGCD:VM reached high levels of dry matter, which facilitated the dehydration process. The content of protein, lipid, energy and costs, obtained in the different mixtures, accredits them as possible aquaculture feed, to replace conventional protein in diets, according to the species, productive purpose and market requirements. The PCA with covariance matrix suggests that the mixtures CIGCD:VM, the treatments CIGCD:SBM (80:20), CIGCD:SBM (70:30) and CIGCD:SBM (60:40) have better nutritional characteristics, although, the CIGCD:PKC (80:20) ratio showed high protein levels and was the most economical.

Impact of a daily legume-based meal on dietary and nutritional intake in a group of omnivorous adults.

Adopting eco-friendly diets will demand the consumption of more plant-based protein food sources such as legumes. However, assessing the impact of such a dietary shift on the dietary and nutritional intake of traditionally omnivorous populations is needed. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of substituting a traditional omnivorous-based lunch for a vegetarian, legume-based meal on the daily dietary and nutritional intake in a group of omnivorous adults in the city of Porto, Portugal. Nineteen, non-vegetarian, healthy young adults consumed a vegetarian, legume-based meal from Monday to Friday, for 8 consecutive weeks. Socio-demographic data, health status, lifestyle-related information and anthropometric parameters were recorded. Three-day food records were used to collect food intake at baseline and week 8. European Food Safety Authority and World Health Organization reference values were used to assess nutritional inadequacies. Variables were described as medians (P25 and P75 ). Wilcoxon signed-rank and Mann-Whitney tests were used for statistical comparisons. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Participants consumed 38.0 (P25 = 35.0; P75 = 40.0) meals, resulting in an intake of 84.5 g (P25 = 74.9; P75 = 98.4) of cooked legumes per meal, meaning 11 subjects (57.9%) met the Portuguese guidelines for legume consumption (≥80 g/day of legumes). The current dietary intervention did not seem to aggravate the prevalence of nutritional inadequacies for the macro- and micronutrients tested, except for the case of vitamin B12 (52.6% [95% CI: 28.9-75.6] vs. 78.9% [95% CI: 54.4-94.0]). This could be linked to the reduction of dietary sources of this vitamin which is an expected consequence of vegetarian meals. Dietary changes towards grain legume-based diets are desirable yet need to be carefully implemented to prevent exacerbating potential nutrient inadequacies, especially of vitamin B12 .

The carbon footprint of common vegetarian and non-vegetarian meals in Portugal: an estimate, comparison, and analysis

Abstract Purpose Vegetarian diets have been suggested as one way to reduce the carbon footprint of individuals, when compared to standard Western diets, given the latter’s inclusion of high-carbon footprint animal foods. However, it is unclear if, within usually consumed meals, the average vegetarian meals have a significantly lower carbon footprint than non-vegetarian meals. Often consumed meals were designated as “common” in this research and obtained from real consumers’ food diaries. The purpose of this research is to find out if, in Portugal, common vegetarian meals have a lower carbon footprint than common non-vegetarian meals; and, to communicate the results in a format that might lead consumers in Portugal to reduce this food carbon footprint of theirs. Methods We conducted a novel analysis for Portugal, namely due to three factors: (1) its focus on meals, rather than ingredients; (2) the inclusion of national food consumption, rather than food production; and (3) presenting the results in a traffic light system. It was also tested how non-vegetarian meals’ carbon footprint would change if animal protein was replaced by plant protein. Results The carbon footprint of common non-vegetarian meals in Portugal is 5.5 times higher than that of common vegetarian meals in Portugal. There is a wide range of carbon footprint values for vegetarian meals in Portugal, specifically, the 5th percentile is 8.5 times smaller than the 95th percentile. Moreover, the common non-vegetarian meals in Portugal when “made” vegetarian have a carbon footprint about 6.4 times lower than the common non-vegetarian meals in Portugal. Conclusions There are known limitations in this research, besides the unknown ones, such as using only one environmental impact indicator, namely the carbon footprint (rather than the ecological footprint, other, or even none of these); the limited breadth of studies selected, to obtain the food items’ carbon footprint (reviews, meta-studies, and local studies); and the narrow LCA boundaries and characteristics included in those and subsequent analysis (of the food items’ bioavailability and nutritional functional unit, among others). However, within the scope of this research, the three general hypotheses of this research have been confirmed. It can be concluded that vegetarian food is a potential solution for food’s environmental sustainability in Portugal.

From attitude to identity? A field experiment on attitude activation, identity formation, and meat reduction

The reciprocal relationship between a person's identity and behaviour is well documented, but there is little research on the identity-formation process. We propose that self-perceptions generated from changed behaviour are not transformed into a new identity right away. However, identity-consistent behaviour increases the strength and positive valence of the attitude towards the behaviour. With repeated behaviour, this attitude becomes increasingly self-defining and therefore increasingly likely to be transformed into an identity. This hypothesis was tested in a longitudinal field experiment focusing on flexitarian and vegetarian identities, where participants (605 9th and 10th graders in Denmark) were randomly allocated to two different treatments, involving different combinations of a strong and a weak “nudge” to eat more vegetarian food. Vegetarian meals (VM) were an option in both groups, but in the first group, VM were the default for four weeks, followed by four weeks where VM was an option, but not the default. In the second group, the order of the two conditions was reversed. As expected, significantly more participants chose vegetarian when it was the default and the frequency of VM affected flexitarian and vegetarian identity. Attitudes fully mediated the impact of behaviour on flexitarian identity over the eight-week study. Most of the effect appeared in the first four weeks. Hence, it appears that the self-perception process starts with attitude change before it leads to the adoption of a new identity. These findings provide new insights for the promotion of reduced meat-eating and other pro-environmental behaviours.

An Outbreak Investigation of a Cluster of Gastroenteritis Following a Marriage Function in Wayanad District, Kerala, India

Foodborne diseases are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in low-resource settings. This paper describes the investigation conducted in response to a cluster of acute gastroenteritis outbreak in the Wayanad district of Kerala. House-to-house visits were undertaken to identify the case patients, along with laboratory and environmental investigations. The attack rate was 41.2% among those who consumed chicken biriyani compared to 6.9% among those who consumed vegetarian meals. The risk difference (95% CI) was 34.34 % (22.8-45.6), and the risk ratio (95% CI) was 6 (1.6-23) for chicken biriyani compared to vegetarian meals. The attributable fraction (95% CI) among those who ate chicken biriyani was 83.3% (35.6-95.6), and the population attributable fraction was 81.2%. We recommend strengthening of laboratory capacity for detecting foodborne pathogens and active surveillance of all food handlers and food preparation areas with the coordination of food safety, health and local self government departments.

Traffic-light front-of-pack environmental labelling across food categories triggers more environmentally friendly food choices: a randomised controlled trial in virtual reality supermarket

BackgroundFood systems highly contribute to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and shifting towards more environmentally friendly diets is urgently needed. Enabling consumers to compare the environmental impact of food products at point-of-purchase with front-of-pack labelling could be a promising strategy to trigger more environmentally friendly food choices. This strategy remained to be tested.MethodsThe effect of a new traffic-light front-of-pack environmental label on food choices was tested in a 2-arm randomised controlled trial in a virtual reality supermarket. Participants (n = 132) chose food products to compose two main meals for an everyday meal scenario and for an environmentally friendly meal scenario with or without the label. The environmental label (ranging from A: green/lowest impact, to E: red/highest impact) was based on the Environmental Footprint (EF) single score calculation across food categories. The effect of the label on the environmental impact of food choices in each scenario was tested using linear mixed models.ResultsIn the everyday meal scenario, the environmental impact of meals was lower in the label condition than in the no label condition (-0.17 ± 0.07 mPt/kg, p = 0.012). This reduction was observed at no nutritional, financial nor hedonic cost. The effectiveness of the label can be attributed to a change in the food categories chosen: less meat-based and more vegetarian meals were chosen with the label. In the environmentally friendly meal scenario, we demonstrated that the label provided new information to the participants as they were able to further reduce the environmental impact of their food choices with the label (-0.19 ± 0.07 mPt/kg, p = 0.005).ConclusionsImplementing a front-of-pack environmental label on food products in real supermarkets could increase awareness of the environmental impact of food and contribute to drive more environmentally friendly food choices.Trial registrationThe study protocol was pre-registered prior to data collection at Clinicaltrials.gov (NCT04909372).

Effect of Additives Inclusion in Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata L.) Diets on Growth, Enzyme Activity, Digestibility and Gut Histology Fed with Vegetable Meals.

The fishmeal replacement by vegetable meals or other alternative sources, without affecting fish performance and productivity, is one of the principal challenges in aquaculture. The use of hydrolyzed porcine mucosa (HPM) and nucleotide (NT) concentrates, as feed additives in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata L.) non-fishmeal diets was assessed in order to determine the possible effects on growth, feed efficiency, protein digestion, and gut histology when these were included in a plant-based diet (HPM 1% and 2%, P1 and P2; NT 250 and 500 ppm, N250 and N500), in comparison with two control diets, AA0 (100% plant-protein-based diet) and FM100 (100% fishmeal-protein-based diet). Diets were assayed in triplicate and the growth assay lasted 134 days. Results showed a significant improvement in all groups in terms of final weight and specific growth rate in comparison with the AA0 group. An improvement in the feed conversion ratio and the protein efficiency ratio was also observed when the additives were included in lower percentages (P1 and N250) compared to the FM100 group. Significant differences were found in hepatosomatic index, villi thickness, and goblet cells. Thus, the inclusion of NT and HPM was tested as beneficial for the improvement of efficiency of plant feed in seabream.

Investigating goal conflicts in menu planning in Swedish school catering on the pathway to sustainable development

The 260 million publicly funded school meals served annually in Sweden generate 21.000 tons of food waste. At national level, school meals should meet the goal of food waste reduction, together with various other goals such as meeting nutritional requirements, being environmentally friendly and, most importantly, achieving high acceptance among schoolchildren. There is a preconception among kitchen staff that the most popular school meals drive food waste in Swedish school catering and that vegetarian dishes increase food waste, despite being less popular than meat options. By applying mixed methods, this study investigated possible goal conflicts between reduced food waste, high acceptance, and vegetarian options on the lunch menu. An overall aim was to gain knowledge on how lunch menus could be adapted for increased sustainability. Kitchen staff from 10 Swedish primary and secondary schools were interviewed to identify the most popular and unpopular meals, and food waste quantification data and lunch menus from 61 school canteens were analyzed. The results showed that, while the common perception of popular and vegetarian meals creating most waste was held by kitchen staff, it proved to be untrue. In fact, popular school meals and vegetarian options generated less waste than unpopular meals. A vegetarian paradox was detected in interviews, with vegetarian options considered unpopular but with several vegetarian options among the most popular dishes. Thus, school-catering units should stop serving unpopular meals and shift their focus to serving popular nutritious meals, including popular plant-based options, as part of efforts to make school meal schemes more sustainable.