II. THE LEGAL STATUS OF VEGANISM As veganism becomes increasingly prevalent across Europe, legal systems are confronted with the question of whether and how such practices constitute legally protected convictions. While EU law lacks a unified approach, certain forms of veganism, especially those based on ethical or philosophical beliefs, may fall within established frameworks of legal protection, including human rights, equality, and liability law. Article 10 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (CFR5) guarantees freedom of thought, conscience, and religion, encompassing philosophical convictions. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), interpreting the parallel Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), has recognised that convictions such as pacifism, atheism, and veganism may fall under this protection if they meet the criteria of cogency, seriousness, cohesion, and importance.6 This interpretation has been echoed in national case law. In Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports,7 a UK tribunal classified ethical veganism as a protected belief under the Equality Act 2010. Similarly, in Jakóbski v Poland, 8 the ECtHR found a violation of Article 9 where a Buddhist prisoner was denied a meat-free diet on ethical grounds. A comparable approach was taken in a Danish municipal court ruling from February 2024, which held that a public institution’s refusal to accommodate a vegan diet motivated by ethical conviction could constitute a breach of the right to freedom of conscience.9 Although the CJEU has not directly addressed this issue, national courts and scholars increasingly support the view that morally grounded veganism may trigger protection under EU fundamental rights law.10 5 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2012] OJ C326/391, art 10. 6 Cf. Alice Donald and Erica Howard, The Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief in the European Convention on Human Rights (Council of Europe Publishing 2015) 2 https://www.ilga-europe.org/files/uploads/2022/04/rightfreedom-religion-belief-its-intersection-other-rights.pdf accessed 3 June 2025. 7 Casamitjana Costa v The League Against Cruel Sports (2020) ET 3331129/2018 (UK Employment Tribunal). 8 Jakóbski v Poland App no 18429/06 (ECtHR, 7 December 2010). 9 European Vegetarian Union, ‘Veganism Determined a Protected Belief by Danish Court’ (21 February 2024) https://www.euroveg.eu/veganism-determined-a-protected-belief-by-danish-court/ accessed 13 June 2025. 10 Alice Donald and Erica Howard, The Right to Freedom of Religion or Belief in the European Convention on Human Rights (Council of Europe Publishing 2015) 1 et seq https://www.ilga-europe.org/files/uploads/2022/04/ right-freedom-religion-belief-its-intersection-other-rights.pdf accessed 3 June 2025. Cf. Paul McKeown and Rachel Ann Dunn, ‘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’ (2021) 42 Liverpool Law Review 207 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10991-020-09273-w accessed 3 June 2025. 169 RESPONSIBILITY FOR VEGAN DISHES IN GASTRONOMY
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