RSPCA Head of Public Affairs David Bowles said: "We're pleased to see that school dinners will contain less meat in the future but we'd like to see the Government prioritise using only higher-welfare animal products - such as free range eggs - to ensure billions of animals have better lives than they currently do in low-welfare, intensive farming conditions.

"As well as ensuring the health of our children, we have a golden opportunity here to reduce the impact we're having on our planet and also make food choices that show we care about farmed animal welfare and are in line with our values as a nation of animal-lovers.

"Improving procurement rules is a Government goal under its Animal Welfare Strategy so we're keen to see this move towards eating less meat and choosing better, higher-welfare options in all Government-run establishments, including hospitals and prisons.

"The RSPCA's Food for Thought campaign seeks to inspire more people to make small changes to their diets to improve the lives of so many farm animals."