N.Y. Public Health Law § 2827: Plant-based food options

§ 2827. Plant-based food options. 1. Upon request by a patient or the

patient's lawful representative in a hospital providing inpatient or

residential care, the hospital shall offer the patient a plant-based

food option as an alternative to every meal or snack offered in food

service to the patient. All the hospital's written material describing

food offerings shall include the availability of a plant-based food

option. The plant-based food option shall be offered at no additional

cost to the patient beyond what would be charged for a comparable

non-plant-based food option.

2. The hospital shall respond in a reasonable manner and time to any

request made under this section. The request shall be effective for

every hospital meal or snack in which the patient is reasonably expected

to participate. This section does not preclude the offering of

plant-based food options to patients who have not requested it, and does

not preclude an individual who has requested a plant-based food option

from selecting a non-plant-based food option.

3. As used in this section:

(a) "Plant-based food option" means a food or beverage that is free of

animal products and that has nutritional value comparable to the

non-plant-based food option that it replaces.

(b) "Animal product" means meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, honey,

and any derivative thereof.

4. This section shall not apply to patient nutritional support

products including, but not limited to, infant formulas, nutritional

modulars, oral nutritional supplements, enteral nutrition formulas, and

parenteral or intravenous nutrition, prescribed or ordered by a health

care professional, licensed, certified or otherwise authorized to

practice under title eight of the education law, acting within the

professional's lawful scope of practice. However, where a request is

made under subdivision one of this section, and a health care

professional is considering prescribing or ordering a patient

nutritional support product under this subdivision, the health care

professional shall consider and advise the requester whether a medically

suitable plant-based food option is reasonably available.