Sued for giving meat to a vegetarian?

Anthony Butcher · 6th February 2007, 03:20 PM

I was just wondering whether there have been any cases of eateries being sued for providing a meat dish to a vegan or vegetarian? The same might apply for an allergy/intolerance sufferer being given the wrong dish.

I mention this because my girlfriend was served a meat samosa last night, instead of a vegetable one. It's not the end of the world, but obviously there won't be any consequences for the restaurant, other than losing our custom.

Alex McKee · 7th September 2007, 01:46 PM

Name & shame - might change things.

Astrocat · 17th September 2007, 01:38 PM

For court purposes, there is no legal definition for either 'vegetarian' or 'vegan', so people would have a hard time winning in court because of being served flesh as a vegetarian, or being served flesh or body fluids as a vegan, etc.

Various conferences have been going on for the last few years on the subject of how "we really ought to get our act together and properly decide on this, then after that really actually put into practice and get it enforced by law, guys" ... but while a decision has nearly been mutually reached about what ought to be put into practice, i suspect that the days when that actually is the case :P are still quite a way off.

That's the case in the UK anyway, but i would be interested to hear any news of similar sueing taking place successfully , whether in the UK or elsewhere.

Conserned Consumer · 17th September 2007, 10:26 PM

I have seen this happen quite a bit. Particularly with products that affect Celiac sufferers. This is normally a result of miscommunication (whether on our part or theirs) though.

Astrocat · 18th September 2007, 08:33 AM

I think one of the main points here though, is that society (thus eateries) make a chasm of difference between people who choose not to eat flesh for health reasons (ie due to allergic reaction) or religious ones (which effectively are random ones) , and those who do so for ethical, moral, disgust, or non-defined personal reasons (ie vegetarians and vegans)

So, if there were 3 groups of people....

One group being vegetarian, and having been fed meat in their veggie curry.
One group of islamic people who had been given pork in their veggie curry.
And one group of people allergic to MSG, who had flesh in their veggie curry and had an allergic reaction to the additives....

Then usually the second two groups would be heard out, while the first group wouldn;t even be given the time of day.

6th February 2007, 03:20 PM	#1 (permalink)
Anthony Butcher Administrator Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Long Ashton, North Somerset Posts: 170	Sued for giving meat to a vegetarian? I was just wondering whether there have been any cases of eateries being sued for providing a meat dish to a vegan or vegetarian? The same might apply for an allergy/intolerance sufferer being given the wrong dish. I mention this because my girlfriend was served a meat samosa last night, instead of a vegetable one. It's not the end of the world, but obviously there won't be any consequences for the restaurant, other than losing our custom.

17th September 2007, 01:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
Astrocat Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 87	For court purposes, there is no legal definition for either 'vegetarian' or 'vegan', so people would have a hard time winning in court because of being served flesh as a vegetarian, or being served flesh or body fluids as a vegan, etc. Various conferences have been going on for the last few years on the subject of how "we really ought to get our act together and properly decide on this, then after that really actually put into practice and get it enforced by law, guys" ... but while a decision has nearly been mutually reached about what ought to be put into practice, i suspect that the days when that actually is the case :P are still quite a way off. That's the case in the UK anyway, but i would be interested to hear any news of similar sueing taking place successfully , whether in the UK or elsewhere. __________________ Why am I vegan ? Why not ? www.vegansrock.co.uk

18th September 2007, 08:33 AM	#5 (permalink)
Astrocat Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 87	I think one of the main points here though, is that society (thus eateries) make a chasm of difference between people who choose not to eat flesh for health reasons (ie due to allergic reaction) or religious ones (which effectively are random ones) , and those who do so for ethical, moral, disgust, or non-defined personal reasons (ie vegetarians and vegans) So, if there were 3 groups of people.... One group being vegetarian, and having been fed meat in their veggie curry. One group of islamic people who had been given pork in their veggie curry. And one group of people allergic to MSG, who had flesh in their veggie curry and had an allergic reaction to the additives.... Then usually the second two groups would be heard out, while the first group wouldn;t even be given the time of day. __________________ Why am I vegan ? Why not ? www.vegansrock.co.uk

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7th September 2007, 01:46 PM	#2 (permalink)
Alex McKee Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 54	Name & shame - might change things.

17th September 2007, 10:26 PM	#4 (permalink)
Conserned Consumer Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Posts: 22	I have seen this happen quite a bit. Particularly with products that affect Celiac sufferers. This is normally a result of miscommunication (whether on our part or theirs) though.