High Court weighs vegans’ right to special hospital meals

Can a hospital meal amount to discrimination? That question reaches Denmark’s Eastern High Court as judges consider a case over vegan food at Hvidovre Hospital.

The case was brought by the Danish Vegetarian Association on behalf of a vegan woman who spent two periods at the hospital in 2020, first during her pregnancy and later for the birth. She was offered meals including rice, root vegetables and crispbread. The woman said the food was not sufficiently nutritious.

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This lawsuit is the fruit of the fact that we really tried all the other conceivable avenues.

The association sued the Capital Region, which runs Hvidovre Hospital, in 2024. It argues that the meal amounted to discrimination and violated human rights. Secretary-General Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl said the case seeks a principled ruling on whether public institutions must provide proper vegan meals.

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There are a number of hospitals that serve vegan meals without problems.

The association says it first tried to pursue the issue through dialogue, including a petition, but failed to gather enough signatures. Parliament nevertheless debated a proposal in 2021 for a “green option” in all public kitchens, although it fell well short of a majority. “This lawsuit is the fruit of the fact that we really tried all the other conceivable avenues,” Dragsdahl said.

He acknowledged that hospital food choices have generally improved since 2020, but said major differences remain between hospitals. “There are a number of hospitals that serve vegan meals without problems,” he said. “So the hospitals that do not have them do not really have a good excuse.” A 2025 survey by Coop Analyse and the association found that 1% of Danes eat an entirely vegan diet.

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So the hospitals that do not have them do not really have a good excuse.

The association remains optimistic about the ruling. Hillerød District Court cleared the region in 2024, saying the woman had received vegan food and could supplement her diet herself. If the High Court upholds that decision, Dragsdahl said the association will appeal to the Supreme Court. The Capital Region declined to comment on the pending case, and the date of the High Court’s ruling is unknown.

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In this specific case, we clearly believe that a violation of human rights has occurred.