채식･비건･비거니즘 법체계도입을 위한 연구

In 2020, British Court handed down a landmark legal case ruling that said:“ethical veganism was a philosophical belief, and therefore a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010”. In 2020, the vegetarian population expanded to 180million and 30% is vegan. Korea has a 1million to 1.5million vegetarian population with 1/3 vegan. In 2020, a Constitutional appeal on the issue of a vegetarian school meal voucher was brought to the Korean Constitutional Court and rejected the petition. Despite Court decision, vegetarian school meal voucher has grown from 20 schools in Jeollabuk-do province in 2011 to Seoul city, Incheon city, Ulsan city schools in 2021. Many of the States in the EU could not agree on the definition of vegan, veganism, Germany has landed on the legal definition of“suitable food for vegan and vegetarian”leading the new market of vegetarian market. the definition is also related to the standard of food and food additives which lead to the ingredients labeling allergy labeling, certification issues. Those countries that could not adopt the definition are now facing even difficult conflicts among livestock industry, dairy industry, agroindustry, and consumers are trying to survive amid the escalating conflict. Now is the time to make a legal structure on vegetarian, vegan, veganism. Once, we saw ‘halal food’ as a big new market and in 2015 K-United Arab Emirates MOU on halal food was the result of it. But Korea did not support companies with a proper legal frame although ‘halal’ is directly related to the certificate system. Having vegan definition and regulation will open up a new market of K-vegetarian food for companies. Not reaching to the admitting it as a philosophical belief, suitable definition and labeling will give us enough ground to grow up in the vegetarian market.