RAF Personnel Win Fight for Vegan Uniforms

The Ministry of Defence has finally conceded what should have been obvious: no one should be forced to wear the skin and hair of another animal. RAF personnel who live by the principle of veganism will now be provided uniforms free from leather, wool, and other stolen materials.

This change wasn’t handed down as an act of compassion from above. It was fought for. After years of campaigning by the MOD’s own Vegan and Vegetarian Network, the military has accepted that “genuinely held beliefs” must be respected. That means a process now exists to supply leather-free boots, wool-free berets, and other uniform items that do not reduce animals to property.

The requirement is simple: service members alert their chain of command, request clothing that aligns with their morals, and senior officers sign off once safety standards are met. For once, the bureaucracy is being used to uphold freedom rather than deny it.

Predictably, the backlash is loud. The same voices who cheer when soldiers risk their lives are outraged when those soldiers refuse to trample over the lives of others. But the principle is clear: if the state recognises a duty to accommodate religious convictions, it must do the same for ethical convictions. Veganism is not a diet. It is a justice movement.

The decision doesn’t end the military’s role in exploitation, it continues to consume and commodify animals on a vast scale. But this ruling cracks open a door. It proves that institutions can no longer ignore those who reject speciesism. Even in an organisation built on hierarchy and conformity, there is room for dissent.

Elsewhere, momentum is building. A 2022 survey of US military personnel found that 81% want access to plant-based foods. Climate, health, and ethics are driving that shift. Just as vegan uniforms have now been won, vegan meals and wider systemic changes will follow.

The RAF’s concession is not the end of the fight. It is evidence that the fight works.