Vegetarian and vegan rights in Europe: chickening out or egging them on?

Abstract

The recognition of vegetarianism as a protected belief under equality legislation in the UK was denied by an employment tribunal judge in 2019. The judge in question treated vegetarianism as if it were frivolous and whimsical and compared it negatively with veganism. The following year he recognised veganism as a protected belief, which diverges from the norm of protecting both of these beliefs under the same legislative provisions. This article examines a selection of European cases starting in Ireland in the late nineteenth century in which vegetarianism was familiar, respected by eminent courts and protected without much fuss. The purpose is to demonstrate that the tribunal judge erred and that the pending appeal should be successful, failing which legislative intervention may be necessary.

Keywords

• Vegetarian
• vegan
• European Convention on Human Rights
• equality legislation
• UK
• Ireland.