“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do” – Potter Stewart.

Dear Climate Healers,

On February 28, 2024, Gabriela Santos Tacuri and Luis Florian, two students at the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM), the most important public university in Peru and the oldest in South America, filed a lawsuit against their university, alleging that the absence of a vegan option in its cafeterias constitutes a violation of their fundamental rights to freedom of conscience, equality and non-discrimination, personal identity and free development of personality, and puts their rights to health and sustenance at risk.

The case set a precedent in Peru, being the first constitutional lawsuit framing Veganism as the basis for discrimination. The students were supported by the Institute for Legal Defense (IDL), Animal Rights in Peru (DAP) and Accion Antispeciesista in Peru, along with friend of the court (amicus curiae) briefs from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), the Vegan Society of the UK, and Climate Healers.

Before the filing of the lawsuit, the rector of UNMSM, Jeri Ramon Ruffner, responded to the students’ demand by calling it “absurd”. She defended her position in an interview on TV, arguing that the request for vegan food cannot be met due to the budget allocated for monthly rations in the University Dining Hall. She further stated that the menu offered by the university is designed to meet the needs of students coming from different regions of the country, and believes that the request for vegan food is not in line with this objective:

“We have a specific budget for the amount of monthly rations. When an increase in these amounts is requested, we evaluate how we can adjust accordingly. Currently, vegan food is being requested, which we consider absurd, given that our university is oriented towards the needs of the population,” she said during an interview with Channel N.

On June 3, 2026, the Sixth Constitutional Court of Peru ruled in favor of the students and ordered UNMSM to introduce vegan meal options in its cafeterias. It said,

“The National University of San Marcos’ failure to comply with the petitioners’ request, as well as its refusal to implement a vegan menu option in the university dining hall, constitutes a violation by omission of the fundamental rights to equality, non-discrimination, freedom of conscience, and the free development of the personality of the petitioning students and those who share their ethical convictions.”

It ordered the university and all public institutions to take practical steps to accommodate Vegans in a structured and sustainable way. The ruling places Veganism as a protected ethical belief and could have widespread ramifications throughout Latin America and the world.

The University has appealed the ruling, though the basis of its appeal has not yet been made public.

Onward to a Vegan World!

With much love,