“When I go to lunch, I can choose foods that fit my health requirements, ethics, or diet, but people in a hospital bed or prison often can’t,” said Nancy Skinner, Senator of California. This is why a new law (SB 1138) has been passed requiring prisons, hospitals and nursing homes, as well as other state institutions in California, to provide at least one vegan meal to their patients and detainees.
“The law ensures that those who cannot cook or shop themselves have access to a plant-based meal,” the senator continued. She wrote the law after the American Medical Association asked American hospitals to offer plant-based meals to improve the health of patients, staff and visitors. The American College of Cardiology also announced that plant-based foods could help to prevent chronic heart problems.
69 to 9 voted for the new vegan-friendly law (SB 1138) by the state assembly. It will now be signed by California Governor Jerry Brown and put into effect. This follows in the wake of the cruelty-free Cosmetics Act (SB 1249), which prohibits the sale of cosmetics tested on animals.
