A British labor court is facing moral issues in the new year: an employee demands that ethical veganism be recognized as a philosophical belief. This would legally protect ethical vegans from discrimination. The British "Guardian" reports.
The case, which has dealt with the judges from January 2, was filed by Jordi Casamitjana and his lawyers. The plaintiff is an ethical vegan and worked until April 2018 in a management position for League Against Cruel Sports, an animal protection organization that campaigns against the exploitation of animals in sport. For example, she organizes campaigns against bullfighting, against hunting foxes with packs of dogs and rabbits.
Casamitjana was released in April 2018, claiming to be concerned about his employer's pension fund. This has invested money in companies that work with animal experiments, the vegan said. He advised his colleagues to invest their money differently, but management prohibited him, according to a previous report in the Guardian.
In contrast to dietary veganism, a form of nutrition that does not use animal products for health reasons, ethical vegans are based on moral considerations. For example, they also take care not to wear wool or leather clothing or to use products that have been tested on animals.
No bus or paper money
Crowdfunding funded a lawsuit against League Against Cruel Sports. On his crowdfunding page, he said: "My beliefs affect my daily life, including my career". The Guardian told Casamitjana that he was trying not to take the public bus to avoid collisions with insects. He also refrains from figs because there is a type of wasp that lives in symbiosis with the fig fruit and you could never know whether you would kill a larva while eating it. He does not use paper money to pay because animal products are used to make banknotes.
Casamitjana's lawyers are now arguing that this ethical veganism is a global view of the world. At the center is a moral imperative, namely the recognition of non-human beings as equal to humans. Casamitjana's veganism guides him with every decision he makes.
When he started his work, the animal welfare organization had invested in other funds. He saw it as his duty to inform his colleagues about how they could invest their money more morally, said Casamitjana.
His former employer sees it differently: The management has informed all employees that investments in ethically justifiable funds are no longer being made. The Guardian quoted a manager as casamitjana being released for other reasons.
A spokeswoman for the organization said of the upcoming decision: "We are an inclusive employer. Now that it is a hearing that decides whether veganism should be a protected status - which we do not dispute - we consider it inappropriate, to continue to comment on it. "