Hospital and nursing home food practices harm health and contribute to climate change.
A recent study by researchers from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, and Stanford University has highlighted the need for significant changes in the catering of nursing homes and hospitals. The findings reveal that the food served in these institutions, which account for a substantial portion of national greenhouse gas emissions in many countries, has negative impacts on both patient health and the environment.
The study found that meals in these institutions tend to be low in healthy plant-based foods (vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes) and high in refined grains, added sugars, salt, saturated fats, and animal-source foods like red meat and dairy. This results in poor nutritional quality—meals fall short of key nutrients such as folate, potassium, vitamin B6, and protein (especially in nursing homes).
Environmentally, reliance on animal-source foods significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, land use change, and water pollution. Calories from plant-based foods constituted less than one-fifth of energy provision in these settings, far below the recommended 80% in the Planetary Health Diet.
The study also found that inadequate protein intake was an issue in nursing homes, and that food waste, when discarded, produces pollutants harmful to air, water, and soil. However, targeted efforts like menu optimization and waste reduction can yield tangible health and environmental benefits, as demonstrated by a hospital in Colombia that reduced organic waste by over 20% in under two years.
The key points indicating the need for changes in hospital and nursing home food catering standards are:
- Nutritional inadequacy: Poor alignment with dietary recommendations and missing key nutrients.
- Excessive animal product use: Drives environmental degradation and increases carbon footprint.
- Food waste: Significant source of environmental pollution and opportunity for reduction.
- Operational challenges: Healthcare foodservice design often overlooks sustainability goals.
- Successful examples: Targeted efforts like menu optimization and waste reduction can yield tangible health and environmental benefits.
The study, published in "The Lancet Planetary Health," suggests mandatory standards for a healthy and environmentally friendly diet in healthcare facilities. While the federal government has published a nutrition strategy that mentions improving food provision in healthcare facilities, concrete political measures are still pending.
Improving catering standards in hospitals and nursing homes by increasing plant-based food content, reducing animal-source foods, minimizing waste, and aligning menus with planetary health guidelines is essential to meet both human health and environmental sustainability objectives in healthcare settings.
- The study published in "The Lancet Planetary Health" suggests the need for mandatory standards in healthcare facilities, focusing on increasing plant-based food content, reducing animal- source foods, and minimizing waste to align menus with planetary health guidelines, as these changes could significantly improve both human health and environmental sustainability objectives.
- The findings of the study reveal that the excess use of animal-source foods in hospitals and nursing homes drives environmental degradation, increases the carbon footprint, and falls short of the nutritional needs of patients, particularly in nursing homes where inadequate protein intake is a concern.
- Operational challenges in healthcare foodservice design often prevent the consideration of sustainability goals, but targeted efforts such as menu optimization and waste reduction, as demonstrated by a hospital in Colombia, can yield tangible health and environmental benefits, reducing organic waste by over 20% in under two years.
