Judge: Vegetarians Can't Be Protected

A hotel worker who claimed he was bullied for being vegetarian didn't get much sympathy in a British courtroom, the Telegraph reports. George Conisbee, 20, said he quit his job at a hotel near Lowestoft, Suffolk, after being shouted at for wearing a shirt that wasn't ironed. Conisbee also claimed colleagues had given him secretly meaty snacks—like a croissant soaked in duck fat. As a vegetarian, Conisbee said he deserved the same rights afforded to religious and LGBT people protected by the 2010 Equality Act. But a judge saw it differently.

Calling vegetarianism a "lifestyle choice," Judge Robin Postle said it was little more than "an admirable sentiment" that could be held for a variety of reasons, per the Mirror. On the other hand, Postle suggested veganism might meet a higher standard because there was "a clear cogency and cohesion in vegan belief" that all dairy and fish should be rejected for being "contrary to a civilized society and against climate control." Conisbee, who labored for about 17 weeks at the Fritton Arms Hotel, told the court he had been tormented for his beliefs. "It made me feel sick," he said of the snacks. "I felt I was being picked on." (More vegetarianism stories.)