Guidance for supporters who want to take part in the consultation on the future of the NHS, providing information on how plant-based diets improve health, and policies to promote them
The government has launched a consultation seeking input from the public on the future of the NHS. This is a great opportunity for people both to provide feedback on their experiences and concerns, and to propose ideas about how the NHS could be improved.
The deadline for responses is 5pm on Monday 2 December.
One aspect of the NHS’ work that the consultation seeks input on is preventative healthcare, i.e. how to prevent long-term health conditions. The Vegan Society will be making a submission to the consultation, explaining why greater support for plant-based diets both across government and within the NHS will help to improve public health and save the NHS money.
As well as organisations, individual members of the public are also invited to share their thoughts, knowledge and experience. This is where you can help us highlight the importance of plant-based diets for the future of the NHS.
How to respond
The consultation consists of a series of online questionnaires, but you don’t have to respond to all of these and can choose to fill out only the sections and questions that you wish to.
We have highlighted below the sections and questions which are most relevant to veganism and plant-based diets and suggested some wording for answers. If you are able to adapt these and put them in your own words, this will help to increase the impact of your response. You do not have to include all the information we have provided here, of course.
Visit the home page for the consultation.
The home page contains links to all the questionnaires, if you wish to complete them, including about people’s personal experiences of the NHS. Before answering your first question you will be asked to fill in the registration box, which then allows you to access all the questionnaires – you will only need to complete this once.
Two questionnaires offer opportunities to promote plant-based diets. Direct links to them and guidance for answering are below.
Thank you for taking action to promote plant-based diets in the NHS.
Questionnaire one – challenges and priorities for the NHS:
https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/projects/start-here
Q2. Please tell us up to 3 challenges facing the NHS.
Guidance for responders: Our suggestions are below but, of course, put in whatever you personally believe here.
Continued burden of non-communicable diseases
Health challenges arising out of climate change
Need to decarbonize the NHS
Q9. In what ways, if any, could an increased focus on prevention help people stay healthy and independent for longer?
As diet is a driver of a number of chronic non-communicable diseases which place a significant burden on individual health and on health services, measures to improve diet will help people to stay healthier for longer and take pressure off health and care services.
Evidence shows that plant-based diets in particular can significantly reduce the risk of developing coronary heart disease, some forms of cancer and type 2 diabetes, among other conditions. Recent studies also suggest that a plant-based diet can promote healthier aging. The Nurses’ Health Study found that those who ate more plant, and less animal, protein scored higher in terms of their physical and cognitive function over time. [Reference: Ardisson et al, Dietary protein intake in midlife in relation to healthy aging – results from the prospective Nurses’ Health Study cohort. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2024 Feb;119(2):271-282.]
Eating more whole plant foods, specifically grains, nuts and fruit, also leads to the biggest improvements in life expectancy at any age, according to a 2023 paper on the potential impact of sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the UK. [Reference: Fadnes, L.T. et al. (2023) ‘Life expectancy can increase by up to 10 years following sustained shifts towards healthier diets in the United Kingdom’, Nature Food https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-023-00868-w]
As well as the benefits to individuals, a preventative approach based on the promotion of plant-based diets would also save money for the NHS that could be spent on improving health and care services, helping people to stay healthy and independent for longer. Research commissioned by The Vegan Society and published by the Office for Health Economics in 2024 concluded that NHS England could save £6.7bn per year with 100% uptake of vegan diets across the population. We would also gain approximately 173,000 Quality-Adjusted Life Years, raising savings to £18.8bn/yr. See https://www.vegansociety.com/news/news/switch-vegan-diets-could-save-nhs-67-billion-year
In addition to the direct benefits, plant-based diets also help to cut climate emissions, reducing climate change and its associated health impacts.
Questionnaire two – ideas for improving the NHS:
https://change.nhs.uk/en-GB/projects/your-ideas-for-change
Q1. Title
Give your idea a short name that will help us understand what it is all about.
Guidance for responders: It would be helpful to use your own wording here if possible.
Q2. Description
Tell us a bit more about your idea – who is involved? What will change?
Guidance for responders: The proposals below are based on our Vegan Manifesto, a more detailed summary of The Vegan Society’s policy positions. If you would like to know more, you can see the manifesto here. The priority suggestion here is the first one, relating to the work of the NHS. Do add the second set of recommendations about action across government if you wish, but it is not essential.
Plant-based diets have clearly evidenced benefits in reducing the burden of chronic disease, in promoting sustainability goals, in particular reducing carbon emissions.
The government and the NHS itself can take steps to promote their uptake.
Within the NHS and Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), a number of policies would advance the health benefits of plant-based foods and diets:
A “plant-based by default” approach to catering has been shown to be highly effective. This is the principle that healthy and balanced plant-based meals should be offered to catering customers (staff, visitors and patients) as the default, while meat and dairy options are available if the patient prefers to request those. This action would cut climate emissions and normalise healthy balanced plant-based options while retaining customer choice. The policy has been adopted successfully in 11 New York hospitals with high levels of patient satisfaction, and significant emissions and cost savings. More information can be found about the campaign by health professionals to introduce it in the UK at https://plantsfirsthealthcare.com/
Update the Eatwell Guide to reflect both health and sustainability benefits of reducing meat consumption and increasing plant-based whole foods.
Establish public awareness campaigns by the NHS and DHSC to promote plant-based diets and their health and environmental benefits, to ensure public understanding of the Eatwell Guide and what a healthy diet looks like.
Improve training of health professionals such as doctors and dietitians around the health benefits of plant-based foods and diets and help them to use these as key tools for patients. This initiative could utilise the expertise of bodies such as The Vegan Society, which has in-house dietitians, providing training modules for these healthcare professionals.
Across government, a strategy to promote plant-based could include measures such as:
Set a target to reduce meat and dairy consumption by 70% by 2030.
Make policy interventions to improve access to healthy plant-based food, such as free provision of fruit and vegetables in schools and promoting price parity of plant-based alternatives in supermarkets at the point of sale.
Utilise the power of public procurement, ensuring that all public sector catering and food provision has healthy and tasty plant-based options by default and at minimum several vegan options be made available on all public sector menus.
Support the development, production and sale of alternative, plant-based proteins, through public and private investment and a positive regulatory environment.
Improve the standard of education about the nutritional benefits of plant-based foods and how to cook them, both in schools and in relevant higher education and vocational courses (such as catering and professional cookery). This could include introducing new qualifications specific to plant-based cookery and catering.
Make it easy for people to choose a vegan lifestyle by supporting vegans and promoting veganism as a positive choice for the benefit of people, animals and the planet. This includes ensuring veganism’s status as a protected philosophical belief is understood and respected.
Q3. Topics
Guidance for responders: this question contains a list of topics that the idea might be relevant to. We suggest that the following would be the best to choose:
Keeping people healthy
Living with ill health
Hospitals
Nursing and residential care homes
Hospices
Long term conditions
Q4. Would you say this idea is quick to do? Or is it a longer term change?
We recommend selecting answer one: “Quick to do, that is in the next year or so.”
