California prisons would be required to offer full vegan meals to inmates under a bill making its way through the state Legislature.

Written by state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, SB1138 would make it mandatory for hospitals, care facilities and state prisons to offer “plant-based meal options” on their menus.

Those are meals that refrain from using not only meat, but also eggs and dairy products.

“We want to make sure that you are not prevented from being able to exercise that choice,” Skinner said.

Skinner said that while someone can bring a vegan lunch to school or work, “you don’t always have the option to prepare your own meal or bring your own meal,” when you are in the hospital or doing time.

“Human rights are for everyone, whether they are incarcerated or not,” Skinner said.

The Department of Corrections feeds about 129,000 inmates daily at its 35 facilities across the state.

“You can imagine what it’s like when you are doing chicken stew for ... 5,000 people at a time,” said department spokesman Bill Sessi.

While the overwhelming majority of the inmates partake of the planned meals, exceptions are made: “religious options — whether it’s kosher or Islamic — and we have vegetarian,” Sessi said.

He estimated that 12,000 inmates were on one of the optional diets, most of those Islamic.

Sessi said the Department of Corrections takes no position or comments on pending legislation and that he had no idea how much adding the vegan option might cost.

One might think that requiring a vegan option for inmates would raise an eyebrow or two at the Capitol. So far, however, the bill has sailed through both the Senate Health and Public Safety committees with unanimous bipartisan support.

“The bill doesn’t require anyone to eat any certain way — it just ensures those of us who want to pursue plant-based meals have the ability to do so,” Skinner said.

Even hard-line Republicans such as state Sen. Jim Nielsen, R-Gerber (Tehama County), voted “yes” in committee.

“It’s an option,” Nielsen said.

San Francisco Chronicle columnists Phillip Matier and Andrew Ross appear Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. Matier can be seen on the KPIX TV morning and evening news. He can also be heard on KCBS radio Monday through Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 5:50 p.m. Got a tip? Call (415) 777-8815, or email matierandross@ sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @matierandross