How easy would it really be for the NHS to go vegan?

Health professionals are now referring to the removal of animals from healthcare as ‘a moral imperative’, especially when it comes to diet choices, writes Dr Shireen Kassam

A balanced, plant-based diet is one of the best choices we can make for our health (Getty)

The first tenet of a healthcare professional or institution is “do no harm”. In 2023, with advances in knowledge and technologies, we should be looking to extend this core principle to include minimisation and avoidance of harm to animals and our shared environment, in line with the “One Health approach”.

Veganism is a social justice movement that centres animals at its core and aims to eliminate the use and commodification of animals in everyday life. Whilst it may seem that this has no relevance within the workings of the NHS, in fact, health outcomes for individuals could benefit hugely from removing the use of animals, which permeates every aspect of our lives.

An example of a change that needs to occur is ending the use of animals for the development of medicines and medical devices. It’s shocking to learn that, globally, almost 200 million animals are used for scientific purposes every year. Yet, 90 per cent of studies conducted in animals fail to lead to effective treatments for humans, and there are instead a vast number of validated non-animal models that can be used.