UK Hospitals Lag Behind on Plant-Based Meals

The NHS claims to be moving towards sustainability, but hospital menus tell a different story. A new study by Plant-Based Health Professionals UK (PBHP UK) found that most NHS hospitals are failing to align their food offerings with their own net-zero commitments.

Sustainability? Not on the Menu

The study, published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, analysed 36 NHS hospitals and their sustainability plans, grading them on the availability of plant-based options versus meat-heavy meals. The findings? Grim. 

▫️ Processed meat, a known carcinogen, was present on every single hospital menu.

▫️Less than half of NHS Trusts had any strategy to increase plant-based food.

▫️ Climate-wrecking meats like beef, lamb, and goat remained menu staples.

All this, despite the NHS serving 140 million patient meals annually and pledging to reach net-zero by 2045. 

The Problem: Meat-Dominated Menus

Of the hospitals studied, 42% had zero fully plant-based dinner options, while half offered no plant-based lunch choices. Most hospitals made no effort to nudge patients towards sustainable food choices. 

Interestingly, hospitals that outsourced catering performed better in sustainability than those running their own kitchens. So why is the NHS lagging behind on a problem they could be leading on?

Public Support Is There – Where’s the Action?

A 2024 survey of 2,000 UK residents found that over a third supported adding more sustainable plant-based meals to hospital menus. The demand is clear, yet hospitals remain stuck in outdated food systems.

PBHP UK is now pushing the Plants First Healthcare initiative, working with climate and health organisations to get hospitals to take plant-based meals seriously. 

Will the NHS listen? Or will they keep serving up carcinogens and climate destruction on a tray? 

What You Can Do:

▫️Mention plantbased meals on hospital feedback surveys.

▫️Write to your MP.

▫️Choose plant-based whenever you or a loved one are in hospital.

Change isn’t happening fast enough. The NHS needs to do better.