Germany’s First Vegan Kindergarten to Open in Fall

Frankfurt-based Mokita kindergarten will become the first vegan school in Germany when it opens in August. According to its mission statement, the school’s goal is to “provide a sustainable, full-fledged, vegetarian nutritional concept that empowers children to eat healthily and responsibly with regard to animals, fellow human beings, and the environment.” The school’s 40 children will be closely monitored by professionals to assure they are receiving all necessary nutrients. Local politicians have publicly opposed the concept of an all-vegan school on the basis that they believe children will be malnourished if they do not consume animal products. “If parents were to send their kids to a kindergarten which only provided fast food, that would be just as dangerous for them as a vegan diet,” Free Democrats party member Stefan von Wangenheim said. Data collected about the children at Mokita will be used to demonstrate that consuming a plant-based diet is safe for people of all ages. In 2015, California-based MUSE elementary school—founded by director James Cameron’s wife/vegan activist Suzy Amis Cameron—became the first all-vegan school in the United States.