Written By Jack J Collins, Editor of AllAboutLaw.co.uk

Portugal implements vegan law - is Britain next?

Written By Jack J Collins, Editor of AllAboutLaw.co.uk

The Portuguese government has recently approved a new law which has made a vegan option obligatory in all public canteens, which consist of schools, universities, prisons and hospitals.

A petition from the Portuguese Vegetarian Society in 2015 gained over 15,000 signatures and was discussed at parliament early last year.

Nuno Alvim, spokesperson for Associação Vegetariana Portuguesa, said: “We feel as if this is a major breakthrough in Portugal because it’s the first time we have any law that specifically mentions vegetarianism.

“It will promote diversity of eating habits and encourage more people to choose the veggie option as it become more widely available. This of course is predicted to have a significant impact on the population health foremost, but also on animals and the environment in the long run.

“Promoting the rights of the vegan population is as important as campaigning and informing people to adopt veganism, in our perspective. This law seems to be an important first step on the political level.”

The new law was created as a joint initiative by three of Portugal's left-wing political parties, and the motion was approved by a huge majority on 3rd March 2017, barring the abstention of a few right-wing parties.

As such, the UK's Vegan Society have become even more optimistic about their own campaign for diversifying UK canteen options to include vegan catering. Part of this work includes promoting understanding of how adequate vegan meals can be provided in places such as hospital.

The Vegan Society’s Dietitian Heather Russell, who provides education about vegan catering, said: “Hospitals, prisons and places of education need to cater in a way that respects equality and diversity but, unfortunately, it can still be difficult to obtain vegan meals in some settings.

“Staff training can contribute to this issue as people working in institutions may not have been educated about a vegan diet. Our campaigning work aims to achieve just what the Portuguese law has – to ensure that nutritious vegan food is always readily available. I am working with health professionals and caterers to help them make this a reality.”

The Portuguese measure is seen as a huge step forward for the vegan community, and the UK has followed suit with its own petition. It has asked for vegan options on every school, college, university, hospital and prison menu in the UK, and has now reached over 16,000 signatures – a thousand more than the Portuguese one - but it needs 100,000 by April 3 to be considered for debate in Parliament.

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