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"He's not doing well, he's disoriented, tired and fatigued," Reichel said.

"This really is beneath the dignity of a society that calls itself civilized." Reichel is suing under a 2000 law that protects the religious rights of institutionalized people.

Reichel said McDavid has been a vegan for three years, and equates his avoidance of animal products to a religion.

"His vegan diet is based upon his strongly, sincerely and firmly held beliefs, which are the same as a religious belief," the lawsuit states.

Sacramento sheriff's legal affairs Lt.

Scott Jones said he considers veganism to be a lifestyle choice.

Nonetheless, Advertisementhe said, a dietitian has met with McDavid to determine that even if he discards animal products from his daily meals, his diet meets his nutritional needs.

Jones said McDavid has also been seen by the medical staff several times about his diet.

In general, Jones said, the department makes dietary accommodations for medical reasons, but not religious.

He said people who keep kosher, halal and vegetarian diets can supplement their diets with items for sale in the jail's commissary.

"They can not eat what they perceive as offensive and still get the minimum nutrition," he said.

Jerry Read of the Corrections Standards Authority, which regulates the state's jails, said his office does not regulate religi...

A fascinating line of research regarding faces blends fundamental and forensic science.

No two faces are ever exactly the same, not even those of identical twins.

If Mother Nature varies human faces by shuffling a reasonably small number of genes, each definable face should be genetically traceable.

In fact, says Calder, researchers at University College of London have experimented with matching 3-D scans of volunteers’ faces with their DNA samples.

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