Slovenian Advocate: Kindergarten and school guidelines are not discriminatory to ethical vegans

Slovenia's Advocate of Equal Opportunities, Miha Lobnik, has concluded that current dietary guidelines in kindergartens and schools do not discriminate against children who follow ethical vegan diets.

The assessment came after a parent complained that the guidelines were discriminatory because they mandate meal adaptations only for children with health conditions, not for those adhering to veganism for ethical reasons.

Lobnik confirmed that the guidelines indeed treat children differently based on the reason for their dietary restrictions. However, he weighed this against the principle of non-discrimination, finding the practice permissible. The Advocate of Equal Opportunities stated that such different treatment is allowed when it pursues a legitimate aim and uses appropriate and necessary means.

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The different treatment of children thus stems only from the type of personal circumstance that is the basis for their dietary restrictions.

Based on medical expert opinions, Lobnik determined that providing vegan-only meals in educational institutions is not feasible. The consensus from pediatric experts and the National Institute of Public Health is that a balanced mixed or at least vegetarian diet, including dairy products and eggs, is essential for children's proper development. Any nutritional deficiencies could cause harm.

Lobnik recognized the legitimate goal of the state to ensure healthy nutrition for children and adolescents. He found the guidelines to be an appropriate method for achieving this, as they prescribe the type of nutrition educational institutions must provide. He also deemed the current regulation necessary, given the medical stance that children cannot be sustained solely on vegan diets during their formative years.

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Based on the positions of medical science, that a balanced mixed or at least vegetarian diet, which includes dairy products and eggs, is the only appropriate one for the proper development of children, the failure to provide vegan meals in kindergartens and schools is a permissible exception to the prohibition of discrimination.