Plant-based (vegan) mandate for NY hospitals

[Emergent]

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

[OUxPhys, BSN, RN]

58 minutes ago, Emergent said:

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.

There is some debate as to whether olive oil has health benefits. If you use it sparingly then yes but if you overdo it then no. It was only a matter of time before vegan became an option. You pretty much have every other option available.

There are studies that show a plant based diet does offer more health benefits longterm, especially compared to the current American diet.

I just dont see hospitals endorsing the keto/carnivore/paleo diet though, especially with those patients who have CAD.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

10 hours ago, Emergent said:

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

Worse how??? What is your real beef (haha) with veganism?

[pr0dr0me, BSN, RN]

2 hours ago, Emergent said:

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.

Well, I doubt the mandate is based on your cousin's weird raw vegan whole food diet. It's probably just plant based.

[Emergent, RN]

36 minutes ago, LibraSunCNM said:

Worse how??? What is your real beef (haha) with veganism?

Probably my cousin ?

She's awfully preachy and annoying.

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

12 minutes ago, Emergent said:

Probably my cousin ?

She's awfully preachy and annoying.

Well, that I can understand ? I hear that complaint about vegans a lot but in my experience, the vegans I've know have been actually pretty quiet about it. Keto on the other hand...haha. I don't think there's a vast government conspiracy at play to favor vegans. I do think that the environmental impact of the meat industry will become untenable really soon (sadly, as I love meat and dairy).

[Rionoir, ADN, RN]

24 minutes ago, Emergent said:

Probably my cousin ?

She's awfully preachy and annoying.

[klone, MSN, RN]

11 hours ago, Emergent said:

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

Whatever? That's your response. Sorry you're not getting the righteous indignation you were expecting.

3 hours ago, Emergent said:

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.

Your cousin is wrong. There's nothing wrong with olive oil in a vegan diet.

[jobellestarr]

27 minutes ago, klone said:

Whatever? That's your response. Sorry you're not getting the righteous indignation you were expecting.

Your cousin is wrong. There's nothing wrong with olive oil in a vegan diet.

Actually, I believe that whole food plant based diet and Esselstyn don’t use oil.

[klone, MSN, RN]

31 minutes ago, jobellestarr said:

Actually, I believe that whole food plant based diet and Esselstyn don’t use oil.

You're right, I was referring to veganism. The OP is conflating veganism and plant-based. The NY mandate has nothing to do with the Esselstyn diet.

[Cowboyardee]

In principle, offering a vegan option sounds pretty reasonable. It's healthy (generally), it respects patient's preferences, non-vegans might also benefit from the same options, it shouldn't be super expensive.

At the nitty gritty level, I wonder if this is a can of worms. For one, it's not entirely clear just how vegan the vegan options need to be. For example, many brands of white granulated sugar and various fruit juices are processed using animal products. I could go on. Do hospitals have to seek out alternatives to these products? Whose duty is it to know whether a product is entirely vegan - the hospital who provides vegan meals or the wholesaler from whom the hospital requests vegan ingredients and foodstuffs or the manufacturer who produces said products without explicitly disclosing their methods?

And that's not to mention pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, which of course are not even close to vegan. Does offering a vegan menu create a misleading notion in the public's mind about the feasibility of interacting with modern medicine without bending one's vegan ethic?

[vimmie]

It’s got to be better than some of the regular/renal/cardiac trays I’ve been seeing! Get more plants to those patients

[LibraSunCNM, BSN, MSN, CNM]

5 hours ago, Cowboyardee said:

In principle, offering a vegan option sounds pretty reasonable. It's healthy (generally), it respects patient's preferences, non-vegans might also benefit from the same options, it shouldn't be super expensive.

At the nitty gritty level, I wonder if this is a can of worms. For one, it's not entirely clear just how vegan the vegan options need to be. For example, many brands of white granulated sugar and various fruit juices are processed using animal products. I could go on. Do hospitals have to seek out alternatives to these products? Whose duty is it to know whether a product is entirely vegan - the hospital who provides vegan meals or the wholesaler from whom the hospital requests vegan ingredients and foodstuffs or the manufacturer who produces said products without explicitly disclosing their methods?

And that's not to mention pharmaceuticals and medical supplies, which of course are not even close to vegan. Does offering a vegan menu create a misleading notion in the public's mind about the feasibility of interacting with modern medicine without bending one's vegan ethic?

I think for this situation to be the actual can of worms you describe, most vegans would have to be ridiculously unrealistic and rigid, which in my experience, they aren't.