A ‘Life-Style Choice’ or a Philosophical Belief?: The Argument for Veganism and Vegetarianism to be a Protected Philosophical Belief and the Position in England and Wales

Abstract

The recent judgment in Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports in England and Wales held that ethical veganism was a protected philosophical belief under employment law. In contrast, vegetarianism was found not to be a protected philosophical belief in Conisbee v Crossley Farms Limited and others. The authors argue that the Employment Tribunal misunderstood the notion of vegetarianism when deciding that it was a ‘life-style choice’. There are different kinds of vegans and vegetarians, each with their own way of practising the philosophy which influences how they live their life. Not all people who follow a meat-free diet should be afforded this protection, and it depends on whether their belief is one which is determined by certain factors, such as animal welfare and environmentalism, rather than for health purposes. The authors explore the arguments and analysis in the above employment cases, coming to the conclusion that the tribunals oversimplified what it means to hold values such as veganism and vegetarianism, failing to understand the differences between different classifications and sub-groups when coming to a decision. The different kinds of vegans and vegetarians and their characteristics are outlined, before determining whether this should constitute protection under employment law, protecting individuals from discrimination. The situation in the USA and Canada regarding this issue is very different, and there are parallels drawn with attempting to establish veganism or vegetarianism as a religion, and where they could benefit from the recent decision in England and Wales. Finally, this paper concludes that ethical and environmental veganism and vegetarianism should both qualify as protected philosophical beliefs, but other kinds may fall short of what is required to satisfy the requirements under law.

The development and validation of a food chain engagement measurement scale

“…C. Willett, 1994). However, our food choices go beyond that of just nutrition, with a potential to influence our community, social status and self-efficacy as well as impact on wider issues such as the economic landscape of the food industry and environmental sustainability (Block et al, 2011;Costa et al, 2019;Krause et al, 2018;McKeown & Dunn, 2021;Nastaskin & Fiocco, 2015;Vettori et al, 2019;W. Willett et al, 2019).…”

How barriers towards plant-based food consumption differ according to dietary lifestyle: Findings from a consumer survey in 10 EU countries

“…The experience of barriers (Pohjolainen et al, 2015) related to a dietary shift is very likely rooted in a set of food related concepts held as truth by consumers. Moreover, such a belief system can be driven by food and nutrition myths, often poorly justified or contradicting scientific evidence (Chakona and Shackleton, 2019;de Gavelle et al, 2019;Florença et al, 2021;Kay et al, 2021;McKeown and Dunn, 2021;Sámano et al, 2020). Noteworthily, on average EU consumers in the 10 selected countries do not report higher degrees of agreement with their experience of the listed barriers, suggesting a departure from common beliefs regarding dietary shift within Europe.…”

Weganizm i wegetarianizm jako diety we współczesnym społeczeństwie konsumpcyjnym

“…Wzrastająca popularność powstrzymywania się od spożywania jakiejkolwiek żywności pochodzenia zwierzęcego może być motywowana przyczynami ekologicznymi, humanitarnymi, etycznymi, zdrowotnymi lub religijnymi (McKeown i Dunn, 2021). Można wyróżnić kilka kategorii przyczyn rezygnacji ze spożycia mięsa:…”