'Ethical veganism' is 'legally-protected philosophical belief', like religion, says court

 

AN EMPLOYMENT tribunal in the east of England has declared 'ethical veganism' to be a 'philosophical belief system' which should be treated with the same protection as any religious faith after the League Against Cruel Sports' head of policy and research went public over the organisation's investing staff pensions in companies which carried out animal testing.

Jordi Casamitjana, 55, is originally from Catalunya, but has lived in the UK for over 30 years and identifies as an 'ethical vegan' – which is not the same as merely following a vegan diet but extends to a person's entire lifestyle.

It ranges from the more common principles such as not wearing leather shoes to areas of life that are not so obvious – not wearing wool, silk, pearl or sea-shell jewellery, not using any products tested on animals or even duck- and goose-down pillows and quilts, soap where it is made from animal fat, food that uses cochineal, a dye extracted from beetles, not eating or drinking from bone china, sometimes even avoiding vaccines where the drug is grown in hens' eggs, and in Jordi's case, will not travel by bus because doing so could cause harm to birds.

Some 'ethical vegans' do not eat plant crops where animal manure is used as fertiliser, or where they are pollinated by bees – crops suitable for ethical veganism are fertilised with plant-based compost.

Other branches of non-dietary vegan or vegetarian beliefs include boycotting any foodstuffs or consumer products which cause damage to the environment.

Jordi Casamitjana, a zoologist specialising in ethology (animal behaviour), was fired for being a whistleblower after he discovered that some of the funds the LACS was investing in for workplace pensions were run by companies which tested their products on animals.

One of the key figures behind the bull-fighting ban in Catalunya through his acting as consulting for the activist group PROU, Jordi says his sacking was based upon his beliefs, although the LACS says he was fired for 'gross misconduct'.

Today, however, a court in Norwich, UK has declared that 'ethical veganism' should be treated as a 'pagan belief' and handled in the same way as a religious faith.

This means, according to judge Robin Postle, that 'ethical vegans' are legally protected against discrimination on the grounds of their beliefs, including at work – for example, a supermarket worker who does not want to handle meat, even at the checkout, must be excused from doing so.

It also means schools, hospitals, nursing homes and other institutions are required by law to respect vegan beliefs and provide suitable dietary options, in the same way they are legally obliged to provide meals free from ham and pork for Jews and Muslims and free from beef for Hindus.

Although as yet the ruling only applies in the UK, Jordi maintains close connections with his home country – as seen through his campaigning to stop bull-fighting in Catalunya and, later, the Balearic Islands – so he may now push to see it brought into law in Spain.

He says it is an 'important verdict' for 'vegans all over the world'.

As yet, the only one of Spain's 17 autonomously-governed regions where schools are obliged by law to provide vegetarian, vegan or meat-free meals for pupils is the Basque Country, and parents who bring their children up on a non-meat diet have long been campaigning for all other regional education authorities to treat their values in the same way as they are required to do with religious dietary restrictions and food allergies and intolerances.

In Britain, for a set of personal values to be recognised as a 'philosophical belief', it has to meet a series of criteria – being worthy of respect in a democratic society, not being incompatible with human dignity, and not being at odds with others' fundamental rights.

Ethical veganism met all these criteria, according to Robin Postle.

Jordi Casamitjana says his case was not so much a battle against his ex-employers for the loss of his job, even though this in itself was 'distressing', but was about 'establishing valuable protection for all ethical vegans'.

The LACS declined to comment further, saying it would be 'inappropriate' to do so, as the hearing was 'to decide whether veganism should be a protected status', which is 'something the LACS does not contest'.

Jordi Casamitjana is shown in the above photograph, by the Press Association, outside the court in Norwich.