This country has made it ILLEGAL to not serve Vegan options at public buildings!

Every Vegan in the world has a special place or two on their bucket list that they want to visit specifically for food reasons. Indeed, there are several places on Earth which are in fact Vegan paradises; Singapore, Taipei, Bali and Tel Aviv to name a few. Needless to say, every Vegan will want to visit these places just to enjoy the exotic variety of plant-based delicacies that they are known for. 

In light of this, The Culture Trip has reported that Portugal has become the first country where it is illegal by state law not to provide a vegan option for meals served in all public buildings. This means that all the universities, hospitals, schools, penal institutions and government offices allow people to choose meal options that contain no animal products. 

Caldo Verde (Portuguese Green Soup)

This change began when The Portuguese Vegetarian Society created a petition in late 2016 to approve this law. Over a period of 4-5 months, the petition gained over 15,000 signatures and was approved in March 2017 by the national government. 

Nuno Alvim, a spokesperson for Associação Vegetariana Portuguesa, said: ‘We feel this is a major breakthrough in Portugal because it’s the first time we have any law that specifically mentions vegetarianism.

 He went on to comment that "It will promote diversity of eating habits and encourage more people to choose the veggie option as it becomes more widely available. "

This is, of course, predicted to have a significant impact on the population’s health foremost, but also on animals and the environment in the long run. Nuno Alvim exclaimed that "Promoting the rights of the vegan population is as important as campaigning and informing people to adopt veganism, in our view."

Portuguese Vegan Buffet. Image courtesy InfiniteAdventure.

Upon the approval of this law in Portugal, inspired citizens in the UK also created a similar petition, to bring forth mandatory Vegan options in all public buildings. 

Heather Russell, a dietitian from the UK’s Vegan Society, said: "Hospitals, prisons, and places of education need to cater in a way that respects equality and diversity but, unfortunately, it can still be difficult to obtain vegan meals in some settings."

It will be a welcome sight to witness more nations, especially those with the power to cause influence on a worldwide scale to follow up and bring forth such options, especially at schools, universities, and hospitals.

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