New Report On Why Healthcare Settings Should Go Plant-Based By Default

A new report has laid out the evidence supporting a shift to serving plant-based food by default in UK healthcare settings, along with recommendations for the sector to make the switch.

According to the report, produced by the Plants First Healthcare campaign, very few NHS trusts plan to increase plant-based options as part of their Green Plans. This is despite broad support among patients and staff for hospitals to improve the healthiness and sustainability of their catering.

The report accompanies the publication of an open letter signed by 1,000 health experts urging the NHS to go plant-based by default. Both the report and the letter cite examples of this approach being successful. In particular, New York City public hospitals, where patient satisfaction with the plant-based meals is at 90 percent and yearly food-related emissions have been slashed by 36 percent.

State of NHS menus

The food strategies across 40 NHS trusts’ sustainability plans tend to focus on food waste reduction and sourcing local and seasonal ingredients, the report found.

This is despite the large environmental gains to be made through reducing the amount of animal products served. In fact, halving meat consumption would reduce food-related emissions by around a quarter — the same as halving food waste. Additionally, what we eat matters more than where it comes from for cutting emissions. Yet only 20 percent of NHS trust Green Plans propose reducing meat through initiatives such as Meatless Mondays.

Currently very few meals in hospitals are plant-based. The report found that on average, hospital menus included just 1.5 plant-based mains per week, compared to six mains containing red meat. Many NHS hospitals also continue to serve processed red meat such as bacon and ham despite its links to cancer.

Attitudes to plant-based food

plant-based meal — vaaseenaa – stock.adobe.com Most people support adding more plant-based options to hospital menus

According to the report, overall the British public thinks hospital menus need to change; 40 percent find the food served unappetizing. A large majority, at 78 percent, think that hospitals should provide both plant-based and meat-based meal options.

Most people agree or feel neutral that hospitals should not be serving processed meat to protect people’s health. Sixty-seven percent believe that all red meat should be removed from menus to cut emissions. Most omnivores surveyed said they would opt for white meat or fish if red meat were unavailable.

While 61 percent would be “annoyed” if they couldn’t eat meat while in hospital. the report points out that the plant-based by default approach wouldn’t restrict meat. Rather, it would be available upon request, ensuring that patient preferences can still be catered to.

NHS staff also support lower meat consumption. The report found that 62 percent believe it would be good for the environment, and the same amount believe it would be healthier.

Recommendations

The report recommends that healthcare institutions commit to a plant-based by default transition, and recommends ways to make this possible.

It proposes that healthcare professionals should receive education on plant-based nutrition. This seems particularly important as a survey of staff at one UK hospital found that 47 percent worried about nutritional deficiencies in plant-based diets, according to the report.

Another recommendation is for healthcare organizations such as Royal Colleges to adopt plant-based catering at events and meetings.