Italians take their food very seriously, and why shouldn't they when they created of pizza and some of the finest pasta dishes in the world.

But one Italian politician is taking that passion for food to another level, proposing that parents who insist their children follow a vegan diet be jailed. Elvira Savino has put forward a law proposing a sentence of up to a year in jail for parents of vegan children, and even longer sentences if the child's health is damaged by their diet.

She told Reuters, "I have nothing against vegans or veganism as long as it is a free choice by adults". In the proposal for the law, she wrote that it was irresponsible to feed a child "a diet devoid of elements essential for healthy and balanced growth."  The law would apply to children under the age of 16.

Sure, vegans are the butt of a lot of jokes, but this seems a little extreme.