Vegan prisoners win right to 'cruelty free' products in jail in the UK

Here's the link to the article, so basically if you unfortunate enough to end up inside at some point (or know anyone who does) at least in the UK you'll be able to point them to the fact they can get food & supplies. (By the way the VPSG do an ace job here in the UK getting supplies to vegan who are locked up, think about supporting them.)
I'll paste the article below:

Quote :

Vegan prisoners win right to 'cruelty free' products in jail
Vegan prisoners have won the right to order ethically-sourced food, toiletries and cosmetics in jail.

By Nick Allen
Published: 2:33PM BST 24 Aug 2009

They will be allowed to buy in products including nuts, seeds, dried fruits, vegan chocolate bars, soap, shampoo, deodorant, sunscreen, lipstick and facial scrubs after prison chiefs agreed to allow them to place mail order requests to two “eco-outlets”.
Vegans refuse to eat any food, wear any clothes or use any product which involves the use of animals in any way. They don’t wear wool and leather, don’t consume dairy products and will not use toiletries or cosmetics that contain animal products or that have been tested on animals.
Some of the strictest vegans avoid all products with even a remote connection to animal exploitation, including sugar processed with animal bones and camera film that contains gelatin.
There are an estimated 800 in the prison population at any one time and they currently struggle to obtain products they find acceptable, with most jail canteen food and even prison-issue boots excluded.
After a 15-year-campaign by the Vegan Prisoners Support Group (VPSG) the Prison Service has now allowed them to order ethical food and toiletries by mail order if there are none in their prison shop.
Orders will be supplied by the High Street health store Holland & Barrett, which sells a wide variety of nuts and seeds, and the eco-friendly outlet Honesty Cosmetics.
It is the latest in a series of rulings to protect the rights of inmates from minority groups. In May pagan convicts were allowed to keep twigs in their cells to use as wands.
After securing access to food and toiletries for vegan prisoners the VPSG is now negotiating for them to be supplied with “vegan shoes”, which are made from a combination of natural and synthetic materials instead of animal hides.
It insisted that vegans needed to be able to order in food because they could not otherwise get enough iodine from a prison diet. A lack of iodine can slow the thyroid. Most people get iodine from fish and vegetarians get it from milk.
A spokesman for the VPSG insisted it was “critical” for the health of vegans that they have access to suitable food.
He said: "Vegan prisoners have had very limited access to vegan products through prison shops. Our recommendations were for basic vegan hygiene and bodycare products like a vegan soap bar, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser, deodorant and toothpaste.
"In addition we recommended a vegan chocolate bar, sweet and savoury vegan biscuit, a protein source such as Nuttolene or braised tofu, vegan spread, cheese alternative, soya yoghurt, flavoured soya drink and fortified soya milk.”
But a source at HMP Exeter said: “These guys are crooks. They are in prison to serve time. We can't be running around making sure they have the right sun cream or that they have the one brazil nut or selection of walnuts to make sure they get enough vitamins.
“They gave up any rights to have principals when they robbed the old lady, burgled a house, smuggled cocaine or beat someone up."