Is it illegal to knowingly give a vegetarian food containing meat?
a) as an individual (e.g you cooked at home)
b) as a company (e.g. a restaurant)
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19 Responses to “Is it illegal to knowingly give a vegetarian food containing meat?”
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September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
a) not illegal but I would say unethical
b) illegal if you advertise something as "vegetarian" but knowingly add meat or meat components in it then serve it.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
I don’t think it is illegal to do that it is just not moral to do something like that but that is funny especially if you get a complement from them
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
No, it’s just rude and unethical (it’s lying.)
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
No not illegal more funny yet disturbing
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
It could be since many people are vegetarian/vegan because of allergies.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
Not illegal but morally wrong.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
I would think you COULD sue if it was a restaurant. If its someone cooking at home then just socially distance yourself from them. ITS NOT FUNNY! A lot of new vegans blame them self if something like this happens.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
A company could be sued for immoral behavior and acting in a disloyal way, false information etc
At home – it’s just naughty if it was done knowingly.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
Its unethical and wrong. – and I would hope people would not do that.
If its an accident, than thats different.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
A restaurant could be prosecuted for false advertising if they state something is vegetarian when they know it is not. A civil suit could probably be brought against a private individual – most things can be sued for under some heading or other (mental cruelty, malicious intent etc) in the civil courts even if it is not illegal (ie; not a criminal case). In some countries it would be illegal if the victim is vegetarian on religious grounds.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
a) Just either mischievous or malicious, but probably not illegal, as there is no written contract (such as a menu).
b) If done knowingly and deliberately, then definitely illegal, probably a misdemeanor rather than a felony though. Worst that they could expect, if found guilty, is a token "slap on the wrist" fine or a few hours of community service. I think more damage would be done to the restaurant by the bad publicity and negative word-of-mouth.
If accidental or done unknowingly, then probably not illegal, but you could still sue the restaurant (as litigation seems to be the first, rather than the last, resort in the US). If you’re really p*ssed off with the individual cooking at home, then you could probably sue them too.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
Illegal? No. Immoral and unethical? Emphatically YES! When we ask about ingredients and are lied to in either a social situation or in a restaurant the karma is on the persons who are untruthful about what they are serving you. PERIOD.
Mickey D’s paid a huge amount of $ when they the courts found them guilty of lying about the fat they cooked french fries in — claiming that they were cooked in vegetable oil when they were actually cooked in Beef Tallow.
In any such case, you are free to return it at no cost and you are well in your rights to do so. If it is a consistent thing then suing isappropriate.
Furthermore, in such an instance it is incumbent upon you to let either the management or the "friend" who perpetrated such a cruel hoax, or inadvertent mistake on you that it isn’t acceptable and that they risk losing both your trust, business and friendship. And of course in the case of a business knowingly misrepresenting their products — they do risk a legal action and stiff penelty.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
Not illegal, no.
But disrespectful. Immoral even.
Disgustingly common, too.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
a. As an individual, it would probably just be considered rude and anti-social.
b. As a company, you might get sued and/or might give company a bad name.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
You can sue anyone for anything….now are you gonna win everytime or for anything….well it depends on the situation.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
i don’t know about illegal… isn’t there a case out there now where a kid knowingly gave another kid peanuts knowing he was allergic?? you don’t know that the person won’t get seriously ill eating the meat… illegal or not it’s definately not right to do.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
it depends….there are several cases where someone might be able to bring about a civil suit. here are a few examples:
1. if the person has given up meat for religious reasons they can claim that the action was discriminatory
2. if the person has an allergy to meat products
3. if the meat is undercooked they can claim intent to harm
4. if you are a business
etc. etc. etc.
i would hope that no one would do this, but i often wonder how often servers at restaurants really pay attention to our requests for meat free foods. if an individual does this it is just cruel and wrong, and they should be more than ashamed.
Adam- you must be joking. you realize that you already eat meatless foods, right? unless all you eat are grilled ribeyes, in which case we should expect you to cease being able to answer questions in a couple of weeks due to your imminent death.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
Probably not illegal, but it’s a really rotten thing to do. In situation (a), I’d probably never trust that person again — assuming I even bothered TALKING to them again. If a restaurant does it en masse, a la McDeathburgers and the fries, well, they could open themselves up to a giant lawsuit. If one person learns they were fed meat when they were told it was vegetarian, that customer would possibly sue, especially if said meal made him/her sick.
And if I got sick from a meal I ate in a restaurant, and I suspected there was something meaty about it, even though I was led to believe it was veg, I almost surely would avoid eating at that restaurant ever again. Unless I can prove they deliberately fed me meat, I’d probably have trouble getting anywhere in a lawsuit.
September 15th, 2011 at 5:59 am
It is just plain wrong, rude, insulting, inconsiderate, childish and harmful…
And in certain instances can be sued, false advertising, causing harm illness or death.
At one time I kept my lunch in the break room frig with the other employee lunches; until "someone thought it would be funny" to ADD some meat to my left over veggie hot dish. I heated it up in the micro wave, then started eating my lunch and reading my book without really looking at it since I brought it from home.
( did not comprehend the snickers and muffled laughter until later)
Only ate half of it because it didn’t taste right and went back to work. Very soon was feeling sick and was throwing up. I had to go home because some one thought it would be funny..They had to cover my shift for their actions.