NHS Healthy Start scheme ‘discriminatory’ for not offering vegan milk to children The Vegan Society has written to health officials saying the scheme should be overhauled to include vegan-friendly milks and vitamins.

The NHS should overhaul its Healthy Start scheme to include vegan-friendly milks and vitamins, according to campaigners.

The Vegan Society has written to health officials saying the scheme, which offers vouchers to families and pregnant women on benefits that can be exchanged for milk, vitamins and fruit and vegetables, is discriminatory as parents are restricted to buying plain cow’s milk that is whole, semi-skimmed or skimmed. Milk substitutes such as almond or soya milk cannot be purchased.

The letter said: “The convictions of vegans come within the protection of the law and, on the face of it, it appears that the Healthy Start voucher scheme could be inadvertently discriminatory.

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“It is important for everyone to eat calcium-rich foods daily and fortified plant-based milk plays an important role in vegan nutrition. In fact, the UK’s Eatwell Guide recognises that fortified plant-based milk represents a valuable alternative to cows’ milk. Calcium content is comparable and the soya variety is similar to cow’s milk in terms of protein quantity and quality.

“Another issue that affects vegans is that Healthy Start supplements contain vitamin D from animal fat, which means that the only vegan-friendly nutritional benefit of this scheme is free fruit and vegetables. In order to meet national recommendations about supplementation of vitamins A, C and D in under-fives, vegan parents/guardians have to purchase vegan-friendly drops.”

‘Unfair disadvantages’

The letter said the vitamin D supplement currently on offer “unfairly disadvantages vegans and the restriction on the purchase of milk is unjustified.”

It also warned that the NHS “must give due regard to the needs of vegans to ensure compliance with legal duties, and so that vegans do not experience unlawful interference or discrimination.”

The Department for Health and Social Care, which runs the scheme on behalf of NHS England, declined to comment.

A 2017 study of veganism in children at University College London concluded that a lack of nutrients such as vitamin B12, calcium, zinc and high-quality protein – found in meat and dairy – can lead to malnutrition and ‘irreversible damage’ to their nervous systems.

Professor Mary Fewtrell warned: “It is difficult to ensure a healthy and balanced vegan diet in young infants. The risks of getting it wrong can include irreversible cognitive damage and, in the extreme, death…. Our advice is that if parents pursue a vegan diet for their child, they must seek and strictly follow medical and dietary advice.”

There is an estimated 540,000 adults in Britain who are vegan. The Greggs vegan sausage roll and the UK’s first ever “vegan cheese” shop have been in the headlines recently as retailers try to capitalise on what appears to be a trend for meat and dairy free food.