UK Hospitals Urged to Follow NYC’s Lead & Make Vegan Food the Norm By 1,200+ Health Experts

A score of health experts and climate activists are calling on the UK’s public health service to make plant-based food the default option in hospitals.

Gut health guru Tim Spector, environmentalist Chris Packham, and climate journalist George Monbiot are among a large group of experts urging the UK’s National Health Service to adopt a ‘plant-based by default’ approach in its hospitals.

In an open letter addressed to every NHS Trust and healthcare leader in the country, more than 1,200 health professionals and 22 organisations are calling for the normalisation of vegan meals in UK hospitals to lower costs and emissions while advancing inclusivity and health outcomes.

Coordinated by Plants First Healthcare, a new campaign led by senior NHS doctors, the letter highlights the success of a similar initiative in New York City’s public hospitals, which led to a 36% reduction in carbon emissions, cost savings of 59 cents per meal, and a 90% satisfaction rate while serving 1.2 million meals since March 2022.

The NYC campaign was spearheaded by non-profit Greener by Default, which is now also working with Plants First Healthcare to bring the plant-based by default approach to the UK’s public hospitals, which would cut the NHS’s food-related emissions by up to half.

“We have a long way to go to transform both staff and patient meals in hospitals. When staff and patients are made aware of the health and climate benefits of plant-based meals, they are supportive of incorporating more lower-carbon, health-promoting foods,” said Shireen Kassam, a consultant haematologist at King’s College Hospital London and co-lead of the campaign. “The aim is to advance this transformation with Plants First Healthcare.”

The health outcomes associated with vegan meals

The open letter, launched on World Food Day, coincided with the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change’s (UKHACC) Food Systems Policy Report, which calls for the normalisation of plant-based meals in all healthcare settings.

The UKHACC is among the 22 organisations that signed the letter, which also include the British Dietetic Association’s Sustainable Diets Group, the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, and Nuffield Health (among others). Together, they represent over one million members.

“‘Plant-Based by Default’ menus offer and incentivise plant-based meals as the primary menu option without restricting choice – meat and other animal products remain on the menu,” the letter reads.

“There is now overwhelming evidence that shifting towards a plant-predominant food system can significantly improve national health outcomes, address health inequalities and is essential for meeting our climate and nature targets,” it continues.

“By encouraging a higher consumption of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and legumes we can reduce the prevalence of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and certain cancers.”

In 2020, 70,000 deaths in the UK were associated with insufficient consumption of nutritious plant-based foods, like produce, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. “Hence showcasing the benefits of a plant-based diet within healthcare settings should be part of educational efforts to change dietary habits of the UK public,” argued Kassam.

“70% of my work as a GP is managing chronic diseases,” added Sue Kenneally, an obesity physician. “And I think if people followed a plant-based diet, I could probably put my feet up.”

Plant-based diets would ‘save struggling NHS’

Aside from the health outcomes, the letter also makes the case for the climate and cost benefits of promoting a vegan-first approach to NHS menus. The health service has pledged to reach net-zero emissions by 2045, with food making up 6% of its carbon footprint.

Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals Trust, Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, Hampshire Hospitals and Great Ormond Street Hospital have all signed the Cool Food Pledge to curb food emissions by 2030, while hospital trusts like Leicestershire and Rutland have committed to a ‘low carbon menu’ and Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust and Queen Victoria Hospital are cutting back on polluting foods like beef and lamb.

The NHS has also partnered with Quorn to offer blended burgers and sausages to reduce its environmental footprint. But the overall pace of change is slow, the campaign says, pointing to a recent independent investigation that outlined the need for a ‘greener NHS’ that focuses on ‘the power of prevention’. Plants First Healthcare argued that the default vegan approach would help the NHS get on track with its net-zero goal.

A 2,000-person survey this year found that 35% of Brits would back a switch to a 100% vegan menu at NHS hospitals, although only 23% feel the republic would support plant-based meals as the main option, and two in five believe it would have negative impacts on patient health (versus 20% who think they would benefit).

That said, 30% say it would be more planet-friendly, and a quarter believe it would save the NHS money. And as the letter points out, this could indeed ring true. A modelling study shows that a ‘plant-based by default’ approach could save the service £74M each year, with significant household savings if patients are supported in making these dietary shifts.

Likewise, research by the Office of Health Economics found that if England were to adopt a completely plant-based diet, the NHS would witness an annual net benefit of up to £18.8B. “No other intervention can deliver such significant health benefits alongside cost savings and environmental benefits,” the letter reads.

“It would probably save the NHS in many ways, because the NHS is really, really struggling. So I think it really is the future for our country,” said Kenneally.

The letter is now being sent to the CEO, lead dietitian, sustainability director, and medical director of every NHS trust and integrated care board in the UK, with Greener by Default providing free one-on-one consultations, menu analysis, marketing collateral and other support services to hospitals.