LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, September 14, 2002: A California state appellate court ruled Friday that vegans can’t sue for religious discrimination. In the nation’s first known ruling on the issue, the three-judge Court of Appeal panel in Los Angeles threw out a lawsuit by Jerold Friedman, a vegan, who claimed he was denied a job because he refused a mumps vaccine that was grown in chicken embryos. The 41-page ruling surveyed decades of past cases on religious issues and said a religious creed must address “fundamental and ultimate questions having to do with deep and imponderable matters.” The appellate court said veganism does not meet the test, even though Friedman says it shapes his entire way of life and view of the world. Presiding Justice Paul Turner said those beliefs (veganism) do not address “the meaning of human existence; the purpose of life; theories of humankind’s nature or its place in the universe; matters of human life and death; or the exercise of faith.” HPI adds: It may be that a Hindu vegetarian making a similar case on the basis of Hindu religious beliefs would prevail, as in this case the court appears to have focused on the absence of any formal religious framework for Friedman vegan practice.
A daily summary of world news for Hindus and non-Hindus alike