Free milk scheme turns sour for vegans

THEY prompted Greggs’ porkless sausage rolls and inspired Fray Bentos’ veggie pie.

Now vegans are going after health bosses – claiming the Government’s ‘Healthy Start’ scheme discriminates against alternatives to cow’s milk.

Under the programme, vouchers are given to families and pregnant women on benefits that can be exchanged for milk, vitamins, fruit and vegetables.

But parents are restricted to buying whole cow’s milk, with no substitutes such as almond or soya milk available.

The Vegan Society has written to health officials calling the scheme ‘discriminatory’ and asking for vegan-friendly alternatives to be made available.

In a letter, it called for the list of eligible produce to be expanded, and threatened the NHS with legal action if it does not comply.

It said: ‘The convictions of vegans come within the protection of the law and, on the face of it, it appears that the Healthy

‘Inadvertently discriminatory’

Start voucher scheme could be inadvertently discriminatory.

‘It is important for everyone to eat calcium-rich foods daily and fortified plant-based milk plays an important role in vegan nutrition. Calcium content is comparable and the soya variety is similar to cow’s milk in terms of protein quantity and quality.’

Since 2016, the number of people following a vegan lifestyle has risen from around half a million in the UK to 3.5million – and the success of Greggs’ vegan sausage roll suggests the numbers could still be rising.

The letter also said the vitamin D supplement currently on offer, which contains animal fat, ‘unfairly disadvantages vegans and the restriction on the purchase of milk is unjustified’.

It warned that the NHS and Department of Health ‘must give due regard to the needs of vegans to ensure compliance with legal duties’ so that vegans ‘do not experience unlawful interference or discrimination’.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it had received the letter and would respond ‘in due course’.