A prescription for change: the success of plant-based meals in hospitals

13 January 2026

A person in medical scrubs holds a turquoise food tray featuring plant-based meals in hospitals, including soup, a bread roll, salad, rice with vegetables, a red drink, and two small desserts in a healthcare setting. — Photo credit: Yakobchuk Viacheslav/Shutterstock

Hospital food is changing – and it’s about time! Around the world, more healthcare facilities are swapping traditional hospital meals for plant-based options as the default choice. The results? Positive strides toward better health, reduced costs, and a smaller environmental footprint.

One standout success story comes from New York. A simple but bold idea – making plant-based meals the default – has transformed the way that food is served in the city’s hospitals. What started as a small pilot project in 2019 has grown into a game-changing initiative with impressive results. More on New York’s pioneering approach shortly – but first, let’s explore why plant-based meals are making such a difference in healthcare.

So, why are hospitals making the switch? And how are plant-based meals tackling some of the biggest challenges in healthcare today?

Meals that support recovery: why plant-based belongs in hospitals

Hospitals are places for healing, but, for years, the food served in many of them has sent mixed messages. Red meat and cold cuts, which are considered a probable carcinogen, have long dominated hospital menus.¹

Contrast this with the growing evidence of the benefits of plant-based diets, which have been shown to lower the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.²

As Dr. Shireen Kassam, founder of Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, explains:
“Plant-based diets have been shown over and over to reduce the risk of chronic health conditions. Studies continue to show that vegans have lower rates of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers.”

Serving plant-based meals isn’t just about preventing disease – it’s about aligning hospital food with healthcare values. As one group of doctors pointed out in an open letter to the NHS, serving processed meat such as sausages and ham in a hospital is “like distributing cigarettes in a pulmonary care unit”.³

Public health benefits beyond the plate

Switching to plant-based meals in hospitals doesn’t just benefit patients – it’s a win for public health too. Here’s why.

Antibiotic resistance

About two-thirds of antibiotics are used in farming, mostly to prevent disease in intensively farmed animals. This overuse fuels the global crisis of antibiotic resistance.⁴ By serving plant-based meals, hospitals can reduce their reliance on food from farming systems that depend heavily on antibiotics.

Pandemic prevention

Animal farming creates perfect conditions for zoonotic diseases – the kind that jump from animals to humans. From swine flu to bird flu, many pandemics can be traced back to farmed animals.⁵ By prioritizing plant-based menus, hospitals are helping to reduce these risks.

As Dr. Kassam notes: “The last 100 years have shown us that pandemics will continue unless we change the way we eat. We need to learn from our mistakes.”

How New York changed the game

New York City’s public hospitals have become a shining example of what’s possible with plant-based food in healthcare.

In 2019, NYC Health + Hospitals began testing plant-based meals with a ‘Meatless Mondays’ initiative.⁶ Encouraged by early successes, the city rolled out a simple system: menus now feature two plant-based options first, such as Garden Bolognese with Rotini or Vegetable Paella with Yellow Rice. Patients can still request a meat-based alternative if they prefer – but the surprising twist? With appealing plant-based options on offer up front, half the patients choose those instead of asking for a meat-based meal.

The results have been remarkable:

Before the initiative, only 1% of patients chose plant-based meals.
Now, 50% of patients opt for plant-based meals by default.
Greenhouse gas emissions from food were reduced by 36%.
Patient satisfaction rates remain above 95%.
The initiative saved around $0.59 per meal.⁷

In 2023 alone, the hospitals served one million plant-based meals to patients – a clear sign that small changes can make a big difference.⁸

Lessons for UK hospitals

The NHS, the UK’s second-largest provider of public sector meals, serves over 300,000 meals a day.⁹ But hospital food in the UK has faced sharp criticism. A 2020 survey found that 65% of patients thought the food they were served made their hospital stay worse, with many describing it as unappetising or lacking in nutrition.¹⁰ ¹¹

Switching to plant-based menus could be the reset the NHS needs. The health benefits are clear: cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes – conditions linked to the consumption of red and processed meat – currently cost the NHS over £17 billion a year.¹² Research suggests that adopting an approach, similar to New York’s could save the NHS £74 million annually.¹³

There’s also the environmental case to consider. Food services contribute roughly 6% of the NHS’s total emissions.¹⁴ Red meat, in particular, has a carbon footprint 70 times higher than plant-based alternatives. By serving plant-based meals, the NHS could take a meaningful step toward its goal of achieving net-zero emissions.¹⁵

A healthy future for healthcare

Switching to plant-based meals isn’t just a trend – it’s a way for hospitals to take the lead on some of the most urgent issues of our time. From reducing chronic illness to fighting climate change and antibiotic resistance, plant-based hospital menus deliver benefits that go far beyond the cafeteria.

As more healthcare providers follow this path, the evidence is clear: when hospitals serve sustainable, health-focused meals, everyone wins.