“We are in a very interesting moment in which for the first time humanity is reflecting powerfully on how it feeds itself, but unfortunately there are still two places where this rarely happens, and it is paradoxical: medical faculties and hospitals” tells us Silvia Goggi, a doctor and nutritionist who has been studying the scientific basis of the vegan diet for years and offers personalized regimes to her patients.
Yes: in Italy, despite the scientific evidence and guidelines for plant-based nutrition, even for children and newborns, in hospitals nutrition is not routinely taken into account as a factor to be considered for prevention. Anyone of us who has been hospitalized or has visited a hospital patient will have seen cooked ham, stracchino, chicken and packaged cheeses of various kinds on the dishes provided to patients. However, the menu is the same for everyone.
“One of the arguments that is often proposed to me by people who are reluctant to embrace a more plant-based eating style is that even in hospital they give ham and stracchino during convalescence, and it’s true” Goggi continues. “The point is that hospitals make use of external canteens and it is the latter that “decide” the type of food to offer. There is no hospital board behind food choices, and this is because until a few years ago there was no reflection on nutrition within academic study paths”.
There is a rationale: the guidelines of the Ministry of Health (the most recent ones date back to 2018) open to the importance of considering plant-based diets for patients, without prejudice to considering the specific conditions of each patient, avoiding problematic foods for him. “Plan diets that respond to the specific ethical, cultural and religious needs of different groups” we read, although in conclusion canteen managers are advised not to allow menus different from the reference one, unless in the case of confirmed pathologies.
“Veg” hospitals
In reality, in the United States we are moving in this direction. Since 2023, NYC Health + Hospitals, the largest municipal health system in the country, has made plant-based food the standard for inpatient meals. This means that the food does not contain meat, dairy or eggs. If a patient doesn’t like the first option on the menu, the second offering is also plant-based. Anyone who wants meat must make a special request. Samantha Morgenstern, an account executive and dietitian at Sodexo, the food services company that provides the meals, told the New York Times that nine times out of 10 patients accepted the “veg” dishes and that the satisfaction rate was higher than 90%. “Just don’t call it vegan,” continues Morgenstern. When offering menus to patients, hospitals made the strategic decision to avoid the term on labels accompanying food trays for fear that this would turn diners away, preferring the term “plant-based food.” Furthermore, following this choice, an initial cost saving of 59 cents per tray was found and, although this amount has fluctuated since then, each plate costs the system less than it did before.
In Italy the experiment that comes closest to this is that of Bolzano. The Bolzano hospital is the first hospital in Italy to offer a vegan menu every Monday to its employees (not to patients). Last year, the “Degli Infermi” hospital in Biella also began to offer the plant-based diet reserved for new mothers who wish it and this simply because “Degli Infermi” is among the few hospitals that can adapt the dishes prepared in the canteen internal. In reality, a vegan menu has existed in Turin’s school canteens since 2017 without major problems. In 2022, the researchers at “Degli infermi” published the results of this attempt in a scientific article on the healthy impact of a “green” nephrological approach for those with kidney failure problems which is based on copious scientific literature.
From the point of view strictly linked to the health of our organism, and therefore temporarily leaving aside the issue of environmental impact, many scientific reviews over the years have underlined that diets rich in foods of animal origin threaten human and planetary health more of those plant-based, even if not necessarily completely vegan, as we explained here (article link).
More education in universities
The same goes for universities. There are very few canteens that offer plant-based alternatives. Yet, an article that appeared in none other than The Lancet in 2023 highlighted how universities should lead the transition to a plant-based diet. “By sourcing different types of food, universities could reduce many of these negative effects while also saving money.” As highlighted in several recent reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the EAT-Lancet Commission on Food, Planet, Health, substantial reductions in demand for animal-source foods are vital to meeting climate targets and keeping food production within limits. planetariums.
A first step – write the experts of The Lancet commission – would be to ensure that at least one convenient, satisfying and healthy plant-based option is available every day; optimally, including nutrient-enriched products in line with evidence-based nutritional recommendations. A second step would be to provide students and staff with information about what they eat through food literacy interventions and food impact assessment tables. Thirdly, as already practiced in many universities, it would be necessary to actively encourage dietary changes through soft measures, such as reducing the animal component in a given dish and low prices.
To know more.
Eating plant-based is better. Here’s what six years of scientific studies say
