A third of Brits claim they would back a switch to an entirely plant-based menu in NHS hospitals
Health organisation calls for a ‘plant-based by default’ approach to hospital food – replicating a successful model in New York
London, UK, 27 June 2024: An independent survey of 2,000 respondents, commissioned by Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (PBHP), has revealed that a third of Brits claim they would back a switch to an entirely plant-based menu in NHS hospitals. PBHP says a move towards a ‘plant-based by default’ approach in hospitals could save the NHS £74 million annually, reduce the prevalence of several major diseases, and reduce the NHS’s carbon footprint by up to 50%.
The survey also found that while 79% of Brits have sympathy for the NHS in its current state, 55% believe something needs to change when it comes to the meals served in hospitals, with 40% of respondents saying meals served do not look appetising.
Just 11% of respondents thought meals served in NHS hospitals are healthy, but over half (53%) said it’s very important for hospitals to promote healthy lifestyles. Almost a third of respondents (30%) thought meat-free meals would be better for the environment, with another third (30%) stating they would be healthier.
The survey results underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive change in the NHS’ approach to hospital food and its role in patient care across the UK. Dr Shireen Kassam, founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK and a Consultant Haematologist at King’s College Hospital London, is advocating for a plant-based by default approach to UK state healthcare to provide better health outcomes for patients, and to help the NHS achieve its Net Zero target by providing more sustainable food options.
Given the scientific data on the benefits of a plant-based diet in managing, preventing and reversing medical conditions, alongside the sustainability benefits, Plant-Based Health Professionals say they would expect that offering vegan meals would be high on the agenda for the NHS. In reality, persuading hospitals to remove animal products from the menu is still a challenge, and the UK is far behind New York, whose public hospitals serve plant-based meals as the default option. Greener by Default has also been working with Vancouver General Hospital to pilot a plant rich meals scheme, and The Hayek in Beirut, Lebanon, has been a fully plant-based hospital since March 2021.
Dr Shireen Kassam hopes that plant-based hospital menus will be adopted by the NHS in the UK. Dr Kassam states; “There is a lot of scepticism within the public healthcare industry, and they expect plant-based meals to be met with distaste. The survey results demonstrate that the general public would be positive about the switch to plant-based menus, with the majority stating that the NHS should support healthy eating.
“In New York, where hospitals offer plant-based by default menus, the approval rating from patients was 95%, when fewer than 1% of patients were vegetarian and vegan. There is certainly an appetite to see change. Everyone has a vision in their minds when they think of hospital food – and it is rarely positive, so it is certainly time the food had a refresh. Plant-based dishes not only offer health, financial and climate benefits, but they are more colourful and flavoursome, too.”
Other key findings from the survey include:
- Four in 10 (41%) would also support plant-based milks and yoghurts being served in hospitals instead of dairy.
- 30% agreed that processed meats such as ham and bacon shouldn’t be served to patients.
- 23% would be concerned the general public wouldn’t back plant-based menus being introduced to hospitals.
- 53% worried some patients would refuse to eat plant-based meals, and 35% unsure if they’d be as tasty as a meat-based option.
- 32% would be interested in trying an entirely plant-based diet themselves, with 31% having decreased their meat intake in the last two years.
Dr Shireen added: “By encouraging a higher consumption of plant-based foods, we can reduce the prevalence of heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, obesity and certain cancers.
“Aside from the health benefits, a typical plant-based meal uses less land, and has a 2.5 times lower impact on biodiversity than one containing meat.”
Dr Kassam concludes; “Our goal is to normalise plant-based meals, and make them the prime offering over animal products. It’s vital for both health and sustainability goals that beans and lentils, which are nutritious and delicious, are encouraged and prioritised. It isn’t about meeting requirements for vegans and vegetarians, but making hospital food healthier overall by promoting the numerous benefits of plant-based foods.”
-ENDS-
Dr Shireen Kassam states that if the everyone went vegan, the NHS ‘would save £30,000,000,000
Dr Shireen Kassam discusses how easy it would really be for the NHS to go vegan.
Notes to Editors:
The full data set is available.
This is a 2024 campaign, commissioned by Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, run by One Poll, asking 2000 respondents.
Dr Shireen Kassam is available for an interview. Case studies are available.
About Plant-Based Health Professionals UK
Plant-Based Health Professionals UK is a community interest company whose mission is to provide education and advocacy on whole food plant-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine for the prevention and treatment of chronic disease, as well as for supporting planetary health.
About Dr Shireen Kassam, MBBS, PhD, FRCPath, dipIBLM
Dr Shireen Kassam is a Consultant Haematologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College Hospital, London with a specialist interest in the treatment of lymphoma. She is also a Visiting-Professor at University of Winchester, Hampshire, where she has developed and facilitates the UK’s first University-based course on plant-based nutrition. In 2023 she launched a course on lifestyle medicine for cancer.
Shireen is passionate about promoting plant-based nutrition for the prevention and reversal of chronic disease and for maintaining optimal health after treatment for cancer. In 2019 she became certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Physician and is also a CHIP facilitator.
Shireen founded Plant-Based Health Professionals UK in 2018, a non-profit, membership organisation whose mission is to provide evidence-based education on whole food plant-based nutrition.
Shireen qualified as a doctor in 2000. During her training, she completed a PhD, which investigated the role of selenium in sensitising cancer cells to chemotherapy. Shireen has published a number of peer-reviewed papers in the field of lymphoma. Her first book, Eating Plant-Based, Scientific Answers to Your Nutrition Questions, co-authored with her sister Zahra, was published in January 2022. She has also co-edited the textbook Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Practice, published in September 2022.