A plan to drop meat from primary school menus in Edinburgh once a week has come under fire after some of Scotland's leading food and farming organisations wrote to the city council to criticise it.

Organisations including Quality Meat Scotland (QMS), NFU Scotland, the Scottish Beef Association and the Royal Highland Education Trust have also asked the council to reconsider the rationale behind its "meat free Monday" policy.

Under new guidelines, all primary schools operated by the authority will serve lunches without meat on a specific day.

The campaign - started in 2009 by former Beatle Paul McCartney and his daughters Stella and Mary - aims to raise awareness of the impact that eating meat has on the environment, climate change and natural resources.

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But industry groups say the reasons for the decision to endorse the initiative are misleading and display a lack of understanding of the Scottish red meat sector.

Jim McLaren, chairman of QMS, said: “Our disappointment is that an organisation, particularly one linked with education, should position their decision to support a campaign with a clear anti-meat agenda.

“The council appears to have based their decision on misinformation which completely misrepresents the reality of Scottish red meat production with its high standards of animal welfare and exceptional and widely-acknowledged environmental credentials."

He added: “An opportunity to educate and inform our urban based young people about local food production systems in Scotland has been missed by an ill informed and ill-judged decision which risks completely misleading pupils and parents.”

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Among the organisations supporting the call for better understanding of the positive credentials of the Scottish red meat industry are Scotland Food & Drink, the Scottish SPCA, NFU Scotland, the National Sheep Association, the Scottish Beef Association, the Royal Highland Education Trust, the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders Associations and the Scottish Association of Meat Wholesalers.

QMS has also extended an invitation to council officials to visit livestock farms and speak direct with producers to gain a better understanding of the industry and red meat’s role in a healthy, balanced diet.