Sam Bankman-Fried living on bread and water because jail won't abide vegan diet, lawyer says
nbcnews.com
The co-founder of failed cryptocurrency exchange FTX pleaded not guilty to a seven count indictment charging him with wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering.
An attorney for FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried said in federal court Tuesday his client has to subsist on bread, water and peanut butter because the jail he's in isn't accommodating his vegan diet.
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Therein lies the philosophical question, is prison about punishment or rehabilitation? Dehumanising these people and telling them their beliefs and practices don't matter isn't going to make them want to return as a reformed member of society.
Prison is both punishment and rehabilitation. The essence of it is to teach the prisoner to follow rules. Eating what you are told to eat is child-level rules following and he still can't do it.
So you'd have the same opinion of an islamic or Jewish prisoner forced to eat pork then?
It's a lot easier to avoid eating one specific meat than all meats and animal products. Those are also religious restrictions which are protected. His veganism is an arbitrary choice he made, not an external religious mandate. You might as well expect the jail to give him nothing but chocolate cake because that is what he chooses.
Ethical Veganism is a recognised belief system and has the same protections as religious beliefs where I live.
From a quick search, it appears SBF is being held in New York and that state does not recognize ethical veganism in jails/prisons that I could find.