Danish court weighs vegan patient’s right to hospital meals

Østre Landsret, Denmark’s eastern high court, is hearing a case over whether a vegan patient was discriminated against when Hvidovre Hospital did not provide her with a sufficiently nutritious vegan meal, DR reports.

The Danish Vegetarian Association brought the case on behalf of the woman, who was admitted to the hospital twice in 2020, first during her pregnancy and later for the birth.

She was offered meals including rice, root vegetables and crispbread. The woman says the food was not sufficiently nourishing.

The association sued the Capital Region of Denmark, which runs Hvidovre Hospital, in 2024. It argues that the meal amounted to discrimination and violated the woman’s human rights.

The association’s secretary-general, Rune-Christoffer Dragsdahl, said the case was primarily intended to establish whether public institutions must provide proper vegan meals.

He said the association had previously tried to resolve the issue through dialogue, including by organising a petition. The issue was also debated in the Danish Parliament in 2021, when lawmakers voted on whether all public kitchens should offer a “green option”. The proposal did not receive enough support.

Dragsdahl acknowledged that hospital food choices had generally improved since 2020, but said there were still substantial differences between hospitals. According to the association’s website, a 2025 survey by Coop Analyse and the Danish Vegetarian Association found that 1 per cent of Danes eat an entirely vegan diet.

The case was first heard by the District Court in Hillerød in spring 2024. The court found in favour of the region, ruling that there had been no discrimination. It noted that the woman had received vegan food during her admission and had been able to supplement her diet herself.

If the high court upholds that ruling, Dragsdahl said the association intends to appeal to Denmark’s Supreme Court. The Capital Region of Denmark declined to comment on the ongoing case.

It is not known when the high court will deliver its ruling. Such decisions usually take several weeks after the hearing.