Students in Peru are suing their university after a request for vegan options in the dining hall was ignored and even deemed “absurd” by university leadership.
The two students presented a written request to include vegan options in the university dining hall’s daily menu at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), the oldest continuously operating university in the Americas. After more than five months, the students received no response and the campus neglected to provide animal-free food choices, Alison Hamje, co-founder of WisdomHaus and certified climate healer of Climate Healers, said in an email to Lady Freethinker (LFT).
The students decided to take legal action. With support from a “local vegan attorney” from the Instituto de Defensa Legal (IDL), they filed a lawsuit against UNMSM on the grounds of discrimination and violation of personal freedom, Hamje said. Infobae reports that the students are also receiving support from the organization Derecho Animal en Perú (DAP) and the activist group Acción Antiespecista.
They contest that the refusal to offer plant-based options in the dining hall “violates their rights to freedom of conscience, equality and non-discrimination, personal identity, free development of personality, and puts their right to health and sustenance at risk,” according to Infobae.
In their lawsuit, the students call for three actions: 1) the UNMSM Dining Hall must provide plant-based alternatives that are approved by a nutritionist specializing in vegan nutrition; 2) the university must establish a registry of vegan students; and 3) veganism must “be recognized as an ethical principle protected by the fundamental right to freedom of conscience,” Hamje said.
UNMSM’s rector describes the lawsuit as “absurd” and claims the university is unable to provide vegan food partly due to budget restrictions.
“She further stated that the menu offered by the university is designed to meet the needs of students coming from different regions of the country, and believes that the request for vegan food contradicts this premise,” Hamje said in her translation of the Infobae article.
However, according to a 2023 study by Data Bridge Market Research, the demand for plant-based foods is expected to grow by more than 14% worldwide through 2029. This includes an expected surge in South American preference for plant-based meat.
In the upcoming hearing for this lawsuit, representatives from The Vegan Society, Climate Healers, and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) will provide professional amicus curaie testimony, according to Hamje. This means that they are unaffiliated to either legal party, but able to offer relevant information or expert insight.
This unprecedented case marks Peru’s first constitutional lawsuit addressing discrimination against veganism. It could help expand vegans’ access to food and freedoms across the country. In their exemplary action to bring plant-based options to their university, these students are also fighting to help protect animals and advocate for a more humane food system on a national scale.
