UNITED STATES, April 2001 (Vegetarian Journal): There are many issues surrounding the availability of vegetarian food in prison, and there is much variety in the way different prison systems have addressed these issues. While some prisoners are given limited rights to receive certain diets, including those prisoners with medical conditions and those of certain religious denominations, there are many factors that play a role in a prison’s decision of whether to provide vegetarian food. Prisons are constantly struggling to provide nutritious meals to thousands of prisoners at the lowest cost possible. To keep costs low, uniform meals are essential. This is the main excuse that prisons use for denying requests for vegetarian or vegan meals. One potential roadblock to getting vegetarian food in prison is the prison dietitian. While most prison dietitians are likely to be knowledgeable about vegetarian and vegan diets, some may go so far as to say that a vegetarian diet is unhealthy and could cause nutritional problems in a prison setting.
Broad definitions of religion are analogous to the argument that ethical veganism should either be recognized as a religion, or alternatively, protected as a class in the same way that religion is. As the Court set out in Welsh, 398 US at 340, “[I]f an individual deeply and sincerely holds beliefs that are purely ethical or moral in source and content but that nevertheless impose upon him a duty of conscience to refrain from participating in any war at any time, those beliefs certainly occupy in the life of that individual a place parallel to that filled by God in traditionally religious persons.” By analogy, an inmate who sincerely holds a strong ethical or moral belief in refraining from consuming meat, or any animal by-products, could be said to hold beliefs occupying a place parallel to that filled by God in religious persons, and, therefore, the inmate should be entitled to an alternative to meat and animal by-products.
Much more at “source” above.