Why Hospitals are Rethinking Patient Menus

From vegconomist.com

Hospitals are increasingly being recognised not only as places of treatment, but as environments that actively shape health outcomes. As pressure mounts on healthcare systems to address diet-related disease, manage costs, and reduce environmental impact, hospital catering is coming under renewed scrutiny. One response is gaining traction – making plant-based meals the default option.

A new analysis from ProVeg International explores why hospitals in multiple regions are rethinking traditional menus, and what this shift could mean for public health and the wider food industry.

                                                                                                                                Image supplied by ProVeg International

Aligning food with health outcomes

Diet-related illnesses place a substantial burden on global healthcare systems, and hospitals serve millions of meals each year to patients whose conditions are often directly linked to nutrition. Plant-based menus can support clinical dietary guidelines by emphasising fibre-rich, lower-fat foods, while reducing reliance on processed and red meats that are increasingly associated with negative health outcomes.

Beyond patient nutrition, hospital catering choices also intersect with broader public health concerns, including antimicrobial resistance linked to livestock production and the role of food systems in pandemic risk. As a result, food is being reframed as a preventative tool rather than a neutral service.

From policy to practice

The move towards plant-based defaults is no longer theoretical. In the United States, public hospitals in New York City have demonstrated how small changes in menu design can drive significant behavioural shifts. By presenting plant-based meals as the standard option, while still allowing patients to opt out in favour of animal-based meals, hospitals dramatically increased uptake (from 1% to 50%), while also reducing food-related emissions and operational costs.

Elsewhere, institutions such as Hayek Hospital have taken more comprehensive approaches, transitioning entirely to plant-based menus as part of a preventative health strategy. Across Europe, pilot programmes are combining staff training, menu redevelopment and procurement support to enable similar transitions at scale.

                                                                                                              Image supplied by ProVeg International / Unsplash

Implications for the plant-based sector

For food producers and ingredient suppliers, hospitals represent a stable, high-volume foodservice channel with growing relevance. As plant-based meals move from niche offerings to institutional defaults, demand is likely to increase for products that meet clinical, cost and operational requirements, from pulses and whole-food ingredients to functional plant proteins.

However, implementation remains complex. Cultural expectations, patient choice, catering contracts, nutritional standards, and supply-chain readiness all influence how quickly hospitals can move. 

The shift towards plant-based hospital menus signals a broader re-evaluation of how food fits into health systems. Whether this approach becomes the norm will depend on policy alignment, operational support and continued collaboration between healthcare providers and the food industry.

Read the full analysis on ProVeg’s website to explore the evidence, case studies, and commercial implications in more depth. For more support, get in touch with ProVeg’s experts at corporate@proveg.org. 

https://vegconomist.com/gastronomy-food-service/why-hospitals-are-rethinking-patient-menus/ 

Can I Be Vegan If My Medication Contains Animal-Derived Ingredients?

From peta.org

Can you still be vegan if a medication you rely on contains animal-derived ingredients?

                                                                                                         © iStock.com/Bet_Noire

Absolutely. Being vegan is about making kind, conscious choices whenever possible—not about perfection.

Some prescription drugs and supplements still use minor animal-derived ingredients, such as shellac stolen from insects, gelatin in capsules, or egg used to develop some flu vaccines. And while vegan formulations often exist (especially for supplements), health always comes first. The same is true for lifesaving medications like insulin, which was once made using animal parts. If you have diabetes and don’t take insulin prescribed by your doctor, you could die—and a dead person can’t help animals (unless you’ve got a will like Ingrid’s!).

If you have access to animal-free medications, wonderful—but if you don’t, that’s okay. When your doctor prescribes a medication you need, take it as directed. Then, whenever possible, you can look for options that align with your values and push for more animal-free options in the future.

It’s About Compassion, Not Perfection

Being vegan isn’t about meeting some impossible standard—we’re all simply trying to make kind choices in a world that still normalizes animal exploitation and slaughter. Every person who goes vegan helps shift our culture toward one in which animals aren’t used for food, cosmetics, medicine, or anything else.

Your choices matter: what you order at restaurants, what you put in your cart at the grocery store, the products you pick up in the beauty aisle. Encourage your friends, family, and community to make kind choices, too—these everyday actions add up to real change.

The same is true for medications that are still tested on animals. When your health depends on them, you should take them. But together, we can push for a better system. PETA is working every day to replace irrelevant tests on animals with modern, human-relevant research—and you can help!

https://www.peta.org/living/personal-care-fashion/can-i-still-be-vegan-if-my-medication-isnt/ 

Vegan medicine: Roquette develops plant-based gel capsules

From veganfoodandliving.com

A vegan alternative to gelatine capsules has been developed, but will we see more vegan-friendly medicine emerge?

Roquette, a global leader in plant-based ingredients, pioneer of plant proteins, and a world-leading provider of pharmaceutical materials, has developed a vegan-friendly gel capsule for medicines.

Roquette uses pea starch, carrageenan, sorbitol, and a gelling agent to create market-first LYCAGEL™.

LYCAGEL™ is a premix solution that meets both EU and US standards for pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products.

It will allow manufacturers to easily make vegan-friendly capsules with the same strength, seal, drying time and disintegration time as conventional gelatine-based capsules.

The capsules also have the advantage of a higher processing temperature suitability than gelatine.

“The launch of LYCAGEL™ marks a new era for softgel formulations and manufacturing. Manufacturers no longer need to compromise on performance when launching a vegetable softgel solution,” said Paul Smaltz, Head of Roquette’s Global Pharmaceutical business unit.

“Designed to be easily adaptable to existing gelatin processes, LYCAGEL™ can support businesses in bringing vegetarian alternatives to market quickly, without significant changes to existing operations.”

Are medicines vegan?

There are some that argue that any life-saving or life-affirming medicines can have their place in a vegan lifestyle.

Indeed, the Vegan Society’s definition of veganism specifies the exclusion of animal products “as far as is possible and practicable”.

This implies that, for example, medicines that improve quality of life should not be avoided.

Currently, a large number of medicines are unfortunately tested on animals or contain animal ingredients.

With the development of pioneering news products like LYCAGEL™ and ongoing campaigns against animal testing, we can hope to see this change to make it easier to avoid animal products in medicines in future.

However, we can’t fight this fight if all the people on our side are unwell.

*It is incredibly important to note that The Vegan Society DOES NOT recommend you avoid medication prescribed to you by your doctor, and instead recommends that you ask your GP or pharmacist to provide you with, where possible, medications that don’t contain substances such as gelatine or lactose. You can take a look at the ingredients in medications prescribed in the UK at www.medicines.org.uk.

https://www.veganfoodandliving.com/news/vegan-medicine-roquette-develops-plant-based-gel-capsules/