Labor backbencher Bec Cody says the Greens' bid to move towards more vegan foods in Canberra could kill her, as the major parties joined to vote the motion down.
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Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur said she had been "willfully misinterpreted" by members of the Legislative Assembly to suggest she wanted to force people to become vegan.
Labor and Liberal MLAs voted against the motion on Wednesday which was calling for the ACT to move towards more "plant based foods".
It would have required school canteens and government catered events to ensure there were sufficient vegan options.
The most contentious part of the motion was a requirement that vegan meals were made the default option at Canberra hospitals.
Ms Cody said she was severely allergic to all fruits and vegetables and the motion could have harmful consequences to herself and others.
She said earlier this week she had to go to hospital after an allergic reaction and she must always carry an EpiPen.
"Ms Le Couteur's motion as written would kill me," Ms Cody said.
"Its deadly content isn't virtuous at all.
"I think there's a lot of people across the health sector and the community in general that may not be able to eat solely plant based foods - I'm one of them.
"I can't eat any plant based foods but there are also people with other dietary issues and medical issues and I don't think they've been considered in this motion."
Liberal MLA Giulia Jones said the motion was at worst "virtue signalling".
"Don't come in here and lecture those of us that do eat meat and believe it to be good," she said.
Mick Gentleman suggested the motion could affect people from diverse backgrounds whose customs and dietary requirements included meat and dairy.
Ms Le Couteur's said she was disappointed at the total lack of support for her motion.
"No of course I was not intending to kill [Ms Cody] in this motion," she said.
"My motion is talking about options, it's not talking about [making it compulsory]."
She said climate change was the one reason she stood for election and moving to a less animal-based diet was one real solution.
"If we are going to make this transition in any way that is at all pleasant for human beings we need to start sooner rater than later," Ms Le Couteur said.
"Plant based food is really nice to eat and it is in general better for human health.
"I'm very disappointed at the total lack of support for this in the assembly."
After the debate, Ms Le Couteur said it was especially unclear why Labor in particular would refuse to back practical measures for more healthy food options.
"Some schools and other sites are already making the switch to plant-based food options, so we know it won't be hard to spread these activities around," she said.