Spotlight on a New Initiative: Plant-Based Hospital Menus - Is This The Way Forward?

In today’s interview episode we’re exploring the topic of plant-based hospital menus and asking the question, are they the way forward? In America, a company called ‘Greener by Default’ is working to transform hospital food services by making plant-based meals the default option on the hospital menu. As they’re planning to bring their innovative approach to the UK, we’ll use today’s episode to find out more - We’ll hear about the pilot in New York’s public hospitals and discuss the potential benefits and barriers to adopting this plant based by default approach. We’re delighted to welcome Dr Shireen Kassam onto the podcast today who is passionate about this area – She’s the founder of a community interest company, Plant-Based Health Professionals UK, and she collaborates with Greener by Default. Dr Shireen Kassam is a Consultant Haematologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer at King’s College Hospital, London with a specialist interest in the treatment of lymphoma. She is also a Visiting-Professor at University of Winchester, Hampshire, where she has developed and facilitates the UK's first University-based course on plant-based nutrition. In 2023 she launched a course on lifestyle medicine for cancer. Shireen is passionate about promoting plant-based nutrition for the prevention and reversal of chronic disease and for maintaining optimal health after treatment for cancer. In 2019 she became certified as a Lifestyle Medicine Physician and is also a CHIP facilitator. Shireen founded Plant-Based Health Professionals UK in 2018, a non-profit, membership organisation whose mission is to provide evidence-based education on whole food plant-based nutrition. Shireen qualified as a doctor in 2000. During her training, she completed a PhD, which investigated the role of selenium in sensitising cancer cells to chemotherapy. Shireen has published a number of peer-reviewed papers in the fields of lymphoma and nutrition. Her first book, Eating Plant-Based, Scientific Answers to Your Nutrition Questions, co-authored with her sister Zahra, was published in January 2022. She has also co-edited the textbook Plant-Based Nutrition in Clinical Practice, published in September 2022. Facebook https://www.facebook.com/wholefoodplantbasednutrition/ IG https://www.instagram.com/plantbasedhealthprofessionals/ Twitter https://twitter.com/plantbasedhpuk LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/plant-based-health-professionals-uk/