References 

Why Plant-Based?

Plant-based eating patterns are linked to significantly lower risk of:

Cardiovascular disease

Ashkan Afshin et al., “Health Effects of Dietary Risks in 195 Countries, 1990–2017: A Systematic Analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017,” The Lancet 393, no. 10184 (May 11, 2019): 1958–72. 

Hyunju Kim et al., “Plant‐Based Diets Are Associated With a Lower Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease, Cardiovascular Disease Mortality, and All‐Cause Mortality in a General Population of Middle‐Aged Adults,” Journal of the American Heart Association 8, no. 16 (August 20, 2019): e012865. 

Andrea J. Glenn et al., “Relationship Between a Plant-Based Dietary Portfolio and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease: Findings From the Women's Health Initiative Prospective Cohort Study,” Journal of the American Heart Association 10, no. 16 (August 17, 2021): e021515. 

Type 2 diabetes

Frank Qian et al., “Association Between Plant-Based Dietary Patterns and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis,” JAMA Internal Medicine 179, no. 10 (October 1, 2019): 1335–44. 

Stroke 

Megu Y. Baden et al., “Quality of Plant-Based Diet and Risk of Total, Ischemic, and Hemorrhagic Stroke,” Neurology 96, no. 15 (April 13, 2021): e1940–53. 

Obesity

Bo Chen et al., “The Association Between Plant-Based Diet Indices and Obesity and Metabolic Diseases in Chinese Adults: Longitudinal Analyses From the China Health and Nutrition Survey,” Frontiers in Nutrition 9 (2022). 

Certain cancers 

Abou Kane-Diallo et al., “Association between a pro Plant-Based Dietary Score and Cancer Risk in the Prospective NutriNet-Santé Cohort.” International Journal of Cancer 143, no. 9 (November 1, 2018): 2168–76.

Yujie Zhao et al., “The Relationship Between Plant-Based Diet and Risk of Digestive System Cancers: A Meta-Analysis Based on 3,059,009 Subjects,” Frontiers in Public Health 10 (2022): 892153. 

Plant-based meals have half the carbon footprint of animal-based meals.

Poore, J., and T. Nemecek. “Reducing Food’s Environmental Impacts through Producers and Consumers,” Science 360, no. 6392 (June 1, 2018): 987–92. 

Case Study: New York City Hospitals

During a three month pilot at NYC Health + Hospitals, over 50% of eligible patients chose plant-based meals and approximately 95% of patients who chose a plant-based option were satisfied with their meal.

NYC Health + Hospitals, “Mayor Adams & NYC Health + Hospitals Announce Successful Rollout and Expansion of Plant-Based Meals as Primary Option for Patients in NYC Public Hospitals,” September 29, 2022.

NYC Health + Hospitals anticipates saving over $500,000 in 2023 due to the plant-based meal program.

Kate MacKenzie, “An Apple A Day Might Actually Keep the Doctor Away,” Washington Post digital, January 27, 2023.

Health

Four of the most expensive health conditions are diet-related, including diabetes and heart disease.

Joseph L. Dieleman et al., “US Health Care Spending by Payer and Health Condition, 1996-2016,” JAMA 323, no. 9 (March 3, 2020): 863–84

Plant-based diets can reduce short- and long-term healthcare costs and improve patient well-being.

Chin-Lon Lin et al., “Vegetarian Diets and Medical Expenditure in Taiwan—A Matched Cohort Study, Nutrients 11, no. 11 (November 6, 2019): 2688. 

Janne Schepers and Lieven Annemans, “The Potential Health and Economic Effects of Plant-Based Food Patterns in Belgium and the United Kingdom,” Nutrition 48 (April 1, 2018): 24–32.

Hildemar Dos Santos et al., “The Polypharma Study: Association Between Diet and Amount of Prescription Drugs Among Seniors,” American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (October 20, 2021), 15598276211048812. 

Sustainability

Greener by Default has the potential to increase patients’ consumption of plant-based meals by up to 50%.

Pelle G Hansen, Mathilde Schilling, and Mia S Malthesen, "Nudging healthy and sustainable food choices: three randomized controlled field experiments using a vegetarian lunch-default as a normative signal," Journal of Public Health 43, no. 2 (June 1, 2021): 392–97. 

Christina Gravert and Verena Kurz, “Nudging à La Carte: A Field Experiment on Climate-Friendly Food Choice,” Behavioural Public Policy 5, no. 3 (July 2021): 378–95. 

Johanna Meier et al., “Can Green Defaults Reduce Meat Consumption?” SSRN Scholarly Paper. Rochester, NY, August 11, 2021.

Victoria Campbell-Arvai, Joseph Arvai, and Linda Kalof, “Motivating Sustainable Food Choices: The Role of Nudges, Value Orientation, and Information Provision.” Environment and Behavior 46 (May 1, 2014): 453–75.

Rachel Pechey et al., “Impact of Increasing the Relative Availability of Meat-Free Options on Food Selection: Two Natural Field Experiments and an Online Randomised Trial,” International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 19, no. 1 (January 31, 2022): 9. 

Plant-based meals have half the carbon footprint and 24% the water usage of animal-based meals.

Mesfin M. Mekonnen and Julian Fulton, “The Effect of Diet Changes and Food Loss Reduction in Reducing the Water Footprint of an Average American,” Water International 43, no. 6 (August 18, 2018): 860–70. 

United States Environmental Protection Agency, “Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies Calculator,” Last modified March 2022, https://www.epa.gov/energy/greenhouse-gas-equivalencies-calculator. 

Cost Savings

Unlike other sustainability interventions that require expensive upfront investments, Greener by Default is cost-neutral, and can even save money by cutting food costs.

Elisabeth Leamy, “It’s time to replace that old toilet. Here’s how much you could save,” Washington Post, February 20, 2018.

Marco Springmann et al., “The Global and Regional Costs of Healthy and Sustainable Dietary Patterns: A Modelling Study,.” The Lancet Planetary Health 5, no. 11 (November 1, 2021): e797–807. 

Kate MacKenzie, “An Apple A Day Might Actually Keep the Doctor Away,” Washington Post digital, January 27, 2023.

Inclusion, Food Allergies, Food Safety

Plant-based nutrition is more inclusive and poses fewer allergy and food safety risks.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, n.d., “Lactose Intolerance: Information for Health Care Providers.”

United States Food and Drug Association, “Food Allergies: What You Need to Know,” Last modified February 17, 2022.