Vegetarian Meal Plan For Arizona Prisoners: Sheriff Joe Arpaio Plans To Save $100,000 Annually By Cutting Meat [VIDEO]
Joe Arpaio, five-time elected sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona, is back in the news after announcing that all eight jails under his command will switch to an all-vegetarian meal plan. Arpaio said that switching beef for soy will help save the county $100,000.
“Little by little, this is the first step to go vegetarian,” Arpaio told Fox 10. “There will be no more meat on the menu, we’ll save $100,000.”
To his credit, the 81-year-old elected official didn’t try to hide his motive behind a plan that is sure to leave a bad taste in the mouths of meat eaters. He said the switch is not for the benefit of the inmate’s health, but rather a strategy to save more money for Maricopa County.
In an interview with Fox 10, Sheriff Arpaio shows just what goes into his culinary concoction that most would deem unappetizing. Even though he said it looks similar to “pasta fagioli” and “stew,” inmates have another name for it — “slop.”
This move to an all-vegetarian diet is scheduled for the upcoming months and is expected to gain little favor with inmates. Earlier this year, Arpaio announced plans to have every inmate pay for their meals. "Everybody else has to pay for food, why should they [inmates] get freebies," he told ABC 15.