Plant-based (vegan) mandate for NY hospitals

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Specializes in ER.

What do you think of the new bill passed in New York State requiring vegan options on the menu?

It does appear to be a political endorsement of this diet over others, such as paleo, which had benefited many as well. While I definitely favor choice for patients, this law is promoting a plant-based as superior.

Also, whenever government imposes another mandate, it creates an expensive bureaucracy and burdensome red tape.

New York's landmark bill guarantees healthful plant-based meals to hospital patients

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I think it’s amazing.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I don't think it's presenting vegan options as being superior, but that they should be options for hospitalized patients. This would only be a 'burden' to hospitals that weren't already providing vegan protein options, in which case they absolutely should be burdened. There are costs to the state associated with poor nutrition in hospitalized patients, so I don't think it's inappropriate for the state to place reasonable expectations when paying hospitals for their services.

You can still eat 'paleo' in the hospital, since all that consists of is eating stuff already on the menu but making sure people know you're eating 'paleo'.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I think it's awesome. Of all the ways of eating out there, vegan is probably one of the most healthy, and it's certainly best for our environment.

Emergent, what about this is endorsing a vegan diet as "superior"?

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Specializes in ER.

The vegan diet has been politicized of late. If the bill was all about freedom of choice, it would have been broader in its scope, I think that's my concern.

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Hospitals work to accommodate people of diverse cultures, religions, sizes and languages. Why not have vegan as one of the varieties in diet.

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Specializes in OB.
3 hours ago, Emergent said:

The vegan diet has been politicized of late. If the bill was all about freedom of choice, it would have been broader in its scope, I think that's my concern.

How do you feel the vegan diet has been "politicized?" Genuinely curious.

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Specializes in ER.
10 minutes ago, LibraSunCNM said:

How do you feel the vegan diet has been "politicized?" Genuinely curious.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/rise-of-veganism-in-politics/

12 minutes ago, LibraSunCNM said:

How do you feel the vegan diet has been "politicized?" Genuinely curious.

http://dailynexus.com/2017-05-22/the-politics-of-veganism/

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Specializes in OB.
1 hour ago, Emergent said:

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/transformation/rise-of-veganism-in-politics/

http://dailynexus.com/2017-05-22/the-politics-of-veganism/

Meh, I think that's a stretch. Is the global/environmental impact of eating animal products being talked about a lot more, as the effects of climate change become more and more real? Yes. Do I think the NYS bill promotes a vegan diet as "superior" to any other? Definitely not.

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Specializes in ER.

Whatever. I think, obviously, it does. New York? They are worse than California. At least California understands the need for adequate staffing in nursing.

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It is about free choice. The free choice of the patients. If the hospital isn't obligated to provide different food options, then why are they obligated to provide anything at all except one breakfast, one lunch, and one dinner? If it's so burdensome to provide some beans as an option beside the meats and cook the vegetables in vegetable oil instead of butter. It's really not a complex diet. And there is paleo stuff on the menu already.

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Specializes in ER.

According to my cousin, plant-based doesn't use oils. She's a fanatic about it. She won't even use olive oil on a salad.

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