{"id":1674,"date":"2019-09-17T09:19:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-17T08:19:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/religion-law-and-the-constitution\/?p=1674"},"modified":"2025-11-14T10:23:06","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T10:23:06","slug":"vegetarianism-should-be-a-protected-characteristic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/religion-law-and-the-constitution\/2019\/09\/17\/vegetarianism-should-be-a-protected-characteristic\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegetarianism should be a protected characteristic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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An Employment Tribunal in Norwich ruled last week that vegetarianism was a not a belief as such and would not qualify as a \u201cprotected characteristic\u201d for the purposes of discrimination law.\u00a0 Put simply, in the opinion of Judge Robin Postle, vegetarianism is merely a \u201clife-style choice\u201d and cannot be described as a substantial aspect of human life and behaviour.\u00a0 The upshot of this reasoning is that if vegetarians are on the receiving end of prejudicial treatment, they cannot claim any special legal redress.\u00a0\u00a0 We would suggest that this finding is incorrect in terms of the law in England and Wales, and furthermore, it is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.<\/p>\n

Firstly, it is important to explain the context.\u00a0 Not all forms of discrimination at work are unlawful per se: e.g. if a company refuses somebody a job because they are deemed to be overweight, or requires staff with tattoos to keep their arms covered even in summer, despite allowing workers without body-art to wear short sleeves, they are not in breach of any legislation.\u00a0\u00a0 Neither weight nor tattooed skin are protected characteristics for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.\u00a0 This means that whilst such policies might be unfair, the law will not intervene.\u00a0 However, \u201creligion and belief\u201d is <\/em>a protected characteristic, so the question arose as to whether vegetarianism could constitute a philosophical belief.\u00a0 The Employment Tribunal here found, in our view wrongly, that it did not.<\/p>\n

Given that there is no absolutely no doubt that veganism can constitute a belief which human rights law will protect, as both the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg and domestic courts have repeatedly affirmed, it is difficult to find any rational justification for treating vegetarianism differently.\u00a0 It is true, of course, that many vegans would argue that abstaining from meat, whilst supporting the dairy industry (which involves large scale animal death and suffering) is an illogical stance to take, but that debate has absolutely nothing to do with whether vegetarianism qualifies for legal protection.\u00a0 To come within the scope of freedom of conscience, a belief must be sincerely held and relate to a serious matter, and there is no need for it to clear any hurdles in terms of third party logic or approval.\u00a0 The reason for this is self-evident: if equality law protects those within the social mainstream, but excludes minorities, it becomes chocolate-teapot useless.<\/p>\n

Many people choose to exclude some food groups from their diet, and products from their shopping basket, because they hold beliefs relating to animal welfare and\/or the environment. There is a wide spectrum of practice when it comes to where individuals draw the line, as well as a range of differing motivations and values.\u00a0 For instance, Person A might avoid factory farmed meat and dairy, palm-oil and plastic, but consume meat from animals reared on their own small-holding; whilst Person B might strictly avoid eating meat and dairy products in any circumstances, yet be willing to buy groceries containing sustainable palm-oil and allows her children unlimited plastic toys; and Person C might abstain from meat and palm-oil, but not dairy, and make an effort to reduce plastic use. \u00a0\u00a0There is a whole gamut of possible permeations, yet in every case, a person is making conscious decisions in relation to consumption, based on a serious set of convictions about non-human animals and\/or the planet which we share with them.<\/p>\n

The labels which individuals choose when they self-identify are complicated and messy.\u00a0 The word \u201cvegan\u201d especially is hotly contested at times, with arguments raging as to what level of personal commitment to avoiding the fruits of animal exploitation is sufficient for someone to legitimately self-identify as vegan.\u00a0 However, for present purposes, the label attached to a conscious position, vegan, vegetarian or something distinct, is a distraction from the main point. \u00a0In the examples above, it seems impossible to justify according differing levels of protection based on some arbitrary external criteria.\u00a0 We would never seriously consider giving different branches of a religion varying degrees of recognition and status, and consequently, why should we presume to make equally arbitrary judgements about people adopting conscientious<\/em> dietary choices over food?<\/p>\n

In very simple terms, if a person believes that it is wrong to kill and eat animals, calls themselves a vegetarian and is mocked or discriminated against on that basis, why is this materially different from someone who believes that it is wrong to kill and eat animals, calls themselves a vegan and is mocked and discriminated against on those grounds?\u00a0 Both forms of self-identification may reflect a profound and consistent commitment to an ethical position, and although many vegans wish to convince vegetarians to take a further step and abandon dairy, it is also the case that many conservative Christians wish that liberal Christians would start or stop a whole host of things. As we don\u2019t differentiate in terms of protection on the basis of intra-denominational struggles where religion is concerned, why should matters of conscience be accorded lesser importance?<\/p>\n

Related Articles<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vegetarians cannot be victims of discrimination judge rules<\/a> (The Telegraph 13\/9\/19)<\/p>\n

Guide on Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (European Court of Human Rights 30\/4\/19)<\/p>\n

Equality and Human Rights Commission Protected Characteristics<\/a> (Equality and Human Rights Commission)<\/p>\n

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