Vegan Eatery Bans Feeding Babies Milk on Premises

Vegan restaurant El Vergel Restaurante Vegano in Tarragona, Spain recently defended its policy banning any animal products—including bottled dairy-based formula fed to babies—to be consumed on premises. The restaurant displays its policy on the front door which states, “We like mothers, of all species. That’s why we don’t like bottle feeds based on cow’s milk. Please don’t use them in the restaurant.” Several mothers have left negative reviews on the restaurant’s social media outlets and via travel platform TripAdvisor in response to the policy, one stating that she was “humiliated” when a staff member left a note on her table regarding the policy while she was feeding her baby bottled dairy formula. El Vergel’s owners responded to the woman’s review, stating, “Mothers who have been genuinely humiliated are those raped throughout their lives to have babies that are then stolen and butchered so that humans can take the milk that was for them,” adding, “these mothers are cows, sheep, and goats—the victims of the bottle you feed your child.” In its response, El Vergel also made it clear that children, dogs, and women who choose to breastfeed were all welcome at the restaurant.