California makes veganism a right in prisons, nursing homes

Forest Nymph

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Now you can demand to be fed vegan meals if you are hospitalized or jailed in California.

https://newfoodeconomy.org/california-vegan-plant-based-prisons-hospitals/

This is one of the reasons I've argued for framing veganism completely as an ethical world view, and on a federal level in the same category as a religion, because by getting more cultural rights for vegans as people, this creates a pathway naturally to get a foothold on rights for animals.
 
I mean, it's one thing to have a law, it's another how well known about it is, whether the requests are complied with willingly or grumpily, whether the requests are always met, whether making special requests in prisons counts against you in any way etc etc.
 
This is a good thing, IMO. It means more acceptance.

(I've never been to jail or prison.)

Well it means hospital too. If you click on this, say you have a terrible unexpected accident and land in hospital in CA in a body cast, you say "hey I don't eat animal products" and people will respect you.

But in California it's taken very seriously prisoners can order vegan food as well, because of the disproportionate number of people of color in jail over cannabis...before cannabis became legal...like reality eight months ago (even though we voted it in 2016 it's only been truly our life in CA this year being legal and stuff). So yes now black and brown people are free to be vegan. Also white people who punch Nazis in Berkeley. I'm very excited.
 
I mean, it's one thing to have a law, it's another how well known about it is, whether the requests are complied with willingly or grumpily, whether the requests are always met, whether making special requests in prisons counts against you in any way etc etc.

I can speak from experience in the California State University system that vegans are respected just as if they said they're kosher or halal, like people immediately react in a way that unfortunately does not suggest scientific enlightenment but they do think they're doing "their job" by accepting "your culture." It's a first step. I'm guessing it will be similar in jails. Employees will be reprimanded for discrimination for not respecting vegans et al.
 
That sounds good. I was in hospital and I had problem getting vegan meals. I'd ask 'is it vegan?' and they would say: 'you've had it before.' but that doesn't mean it's vegan it just means someone told me it was vegan before even if it wasn't.
 
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That sounds good. I was in hospital and I had problem getting vegan meals. I'd ask 'is it vegan?' and they would say: 'you've had it before.' but that doesn't mean it's vegan it just means someone told me it was vegan before even if it wasn't.

I'm sorry that happened to you. It's something I see as a grave injustice to force people who are imprisoned or ill to eat something that is against their ethics or not at all. Like "oh here have this or starve." Especially in a justice system that is disproportionately filled with people of color and with the people getting arrested for being ANTIFA or for being animal rights activists, I can see how California felt the rub, to continue to lack vegan options would be a glaring hypocrisy with our state's supposed political leanings.