When I was in high school, I took a peanut butter sandwich with me for lunch every day. Every. Single. Day. For four long years. My mother probably thought I was being stubborn just to annoy her, but the truth is that even before I stopped eating animals, I couldn't stomach the cafeteria's nauseating (and cholesterol-laden) options, such as greasy chicken nuggets and grayish-greenish Salisbury steak.

For lucky students at one Florida charter school, "mystery meat" is something they'll never have to suffer through. That's because the Alachua Learning Center only serves delicious vegetarian food, all of which is made daily from scratch. Not only is vegetarian food yummy, it's also healthy and is often cheaper than greasy, artery-clogging meat. More and more schools now serve vegetarian and vegan food—which is great news for kids and animals.

metrokids / CC

It can be tough to get kids to eat healthy meals, but I think black beans with corn and rice sounds way more appetizing than ground-up cow noses on a bun.

Posted by Heather Drennan

As you may know, we have a little obesity epidemic here in the U.S. There's been some debate over how to handle the problem—parents are getting arrested, schools are issuing fat report cards, billboards are being erected, and even Spider-Man is getting involved.

Now, the Baltimore City Public School System has taken a page from Sir Paul McCartney's playbook in its efforts to fight childhood obesity: "Meatless Mondays." Instead of serving greasy, fat-laden hamburgers and "chicken fingers," school cafeterias in Baltimore will be dishing up fresh, organically grown fruits and veggies and eliminating meat completely every Monday.

blog.peacefulplaygrounds / CC

For its dedication to providing healthy meals for students, PETA is awarding the school system our Proggy Award. Congratulations, Baltimore public schools!

Meatless Mondays not only provide healthier meals for students but also help protect the environment and save animals' lives. PETA's humane-education division, TeachKind, will be working to implement this program in schools across the country—but remember, you don't have to be in school to incorporate Meatless Mondays into your own life.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Those overeducated academics over at peta2 have just released their annual list of the top 40 vegetarian-friendly colleges in the United States, so if you want to show a little love for your alma mater or your hometown school, you can cast your vote here. The school with the best vegetarian options will be announced in the second week of November, so there’s still a bit of time to vote. The contest has already been getting some good press in college newspapers across the country, including this piece in Yale’s newsletter, and this little vignette from ASU.

My school a) didn’t have a cafeteria to speak of, and b) wasn’t in the U.S., so I went ahead and voted for Berkeley—because Berkeley is beautiful, and they have vegan chicken nuggets. You can vote for your favorite here.