Promote plant-based foods over meat and dairy for a healthier Britain

To help protect planetary and human health, the Government must promote plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, wholegrains, and legumes, and end any support for campaigns promoting meat and dairy. We believe the UK needs to eat less, not more, of these foods.

Campaigns encouraging dairy and meat consumption conflict with climate science and legally binding environmental targets. The NHS advises limiting consumption of red and processed meat due to associated health risks. The Climate Change Committee has called for a 20% reduction in dairy consumption in the UK by 2035 and a 35% reduction in meat consumption by 2050. We think public bodies have a duty to inform people of these facts and inspire the population to eat more plant-based foods.

The Eatwell Guide sets out government recommendations for a healthy diet, based on recommendations from the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy and the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition. This guidance recognises the valuable contribution of plant-based foods and drinks, illustrating that both plant-based products and animal-based products can be part of a healthy balanced diet.

Adherence to the Eatwell Guide has been shown to improve both health and environmental outcomes (Scheelbeek et al., 2020), with appreciably lower environmental impact than the current UK diet (Carbon Trust, 2016). The Eatwell Guide also emphasises that our diets should include plenty of fruit and vegetables and wholegrain or higher fibre foods, and that we should eat more beans and pulses, and less red and processed meats.

We promote healthy eating, including the Eatwell Guide principles, through the NHS.uk website and the government’s social marketing campaigns, Better Health Start for Life and Better Health Families.

Better Health Start for Life provides parents of babies and young children with guidance on a wide range of topics including what to eat when pregnant, breastfeeding and introducing solid foods. Start for Life is designed to help expectant and new parents and carers to establish healthy habits to give their children the best start in life. We deliver this via the Start for Life website, including tools such as Breastfeeding bot, educational campaigns, and the ‘Information Service for Parents’ email programme. The Start for Life website can be viewed here: https://www.nhs.uk/start4life.