Legal / Regulatory

Washington D.C. Bill Would Ban Processed Meat in Hospitals

Processed meat, bacon, carcinogen© Photabulous!

Cancer-causing hot dogs, bacon and other processed meat, may soon be off the menu at Washington D.C. hospitals, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) reported.

A groundbreaking bill, introduced on Oct. 22 by Ward 3 D.C. Councilmember Mary Cheh would require hospitals to make plant-based options available, improve the nutritional quality of their menus by eliminating processed meat such as bacon and hot dogs, and reducing sugar-sweetened beverages.

The Healthy Hospitals Amendment Act of 2019 aims to remove processed meats and unhealthy drinks from hospital menus. The bill specifically lists hot dogs, sausage and bacon under its "processed meats" category.

"Recommended guidelines also call for hospitals to provide vegetarian and plant-based food options and meals low in saturated fat, sodium and added sugar" outlined WPGC Radio.

The World Health Organization (WHO) classified processed meat is a major contributor to colorectal cancer, and "carcinogenic to humans." Processed meat is also linked to death from heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. If passed, The Healthy Hospitals Amendment Act would become the first bill in the United States to require the removal of processed meat from health care facilities.



Neal Barnard, MD, president of the Physicians Committee pointed out that "it's not uncommon for patients to wake up from heart surgery to be greeted with bacon and sausage--the very foods that may have contributed to their health problems in the first place". Passing The Healthy Hospitals Amendment Act, in D.C., will help ensure that patients will be provided hospital food that helps not hinders their recovery.

If passed Washington D.C. will follow the footsteps of a California law mandating plant-based hospital meals, passed last year and a similar one by the New York State Legislature passed earlier this year.