Hospitals go green with plant-based food options

Two Halifax hospitals are offering more plant-based food options. 

The Halifax Infirmary and Victoria General began changing their cafeteria and patient meal options last July. The Nova Scotia Health Authority says the shift follows Canada’s Food Guide recommendations as well as the department’s own environmental initiatives. 

Patients choose their meals from a menu tailored to their needs, but now have additional options like tofu, chickpeas and veggie patties. The health authority says plant-based proteins are good for heart health because they are high in fibre and low in saturated fat. 

While plant-based options are being added to these menus, other options will not be taken away.  

“If somebody has eaten meat and potatoes pretty much all their life, especially in hospital and they’re not feeling well, comfort food is a hugely important thing for them,” says Darrell MacMullin, culinary and chef manager at the health authority.

“It’s one of the few choices they might have autonomy on while in hospital.”  

The cafeteria changes are more restrictive. Some meat options will still be available for lunch and dinner, but have been removed entirely from breakfast. 

Stephen Middleton-Bates, an anesthesiologist who works at the Victoria General and frequents the cafeteria, says he welcomes the plant-based alternatives, but the current cafeteria selection is underwhelming.  

“I eat vegetarian meals not infrequently at home,” he says. “But that’s not really what has transitioned to a hospital cafeteria. It’s more that they took all the meat options away and haven’t replaced them with anything particularly worthwhile to eat.” 

Taylor Nicholson, manager of provincial healthy eating initiatives with the health authority, says the hospitals have heard feedback similar to Middleton-Bates’ sentiments, and they continue to adapt.

“We try to create an environment where making a healthy choice is the easy choice or an acceptable choice.” 

Changing diets: ‘People are definitely willing.’

Irina Ghenea, a family physician in Sydney and advocate for healthy eating initiatives in the province, says one barrier to uptake of plant-based diets is a lack of knowledge in the general public of food preparation.  

“Putting it on their radar, I think that would be helpful,” Ghenea says. “People are definitely willing.”  

Environmental impact

Nicholson says the impact on carbon emissions will be substantial.  

“It turns out we could reduce our greenhouse gas emissions by 31,000 kilograms of CO2 per year by not purchasing those meats anymore,” Nicholson says, referring to a study that has not been released, completed by the Centre for Planetary Health & Sustainable Care at Dalhousie University.  

“It is the same as driving a car 126,000 kilometres or from Nova Scotia to British Columbia 22 times.”