A large chunk of restaurants – particularly those that serve meat – don’t offer healthy plant-based meals, according to a new study.
In places like the US, Europe and Australia, seeing a vegan-friendly dish on restaurant menus is increasingly common, as the foodservice industry works to adapt to widening dietary preferences.
But many of these options may not be great for you, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Louisville and the University of Chicago.
Over the course of three years, the authors visited over 560 restaurants with vegan offerings – a majority located in the US, followed by Australia, England, Germany, Italy and Spain – analysing plant-based entrées for healthfulness.
They found that there are many unhealthy plant-based foods found on the menus of both omnivorous and meat-free restaurants. “There is minimal transparency in the disclosure of nutritional facts that would help health-conscious patrons distinguish between healthful and unhealthful plant-based items,” they wrote.
Published in the Nutrients journal, the findings come at a time when health becomes the central focus for many plant-based brands, in response to consumer demand for products that better serve their wellbeing. For example, Beyond Meat revamped its plant-based beef recipe last year to cut saturated fat content by 60%, replacing coconut and canola oils with avocado oil.
Meat-free restaurants tend to have healthier options for vegans
The researchers analysed up to a maximum of 10 vegan mains on restaurant menus, with each scoring one point if they were free from what they classed as unhealthy ingredients.
These included refined grains like white rice or refined flour, saturated fats such as palm oil or coconut cream, and deep-fried foods – each of which carried a negative point. Even products like meat analogues from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat were classed as unhealthy, although the latter was no longer identified that way after its reformulation.
“If an entrée with an unhealthy ingredient had a healthier option listed on the menu – e.g., brown rice instead of white rice, whole-grain bun vs white-flour bun, or steamed tofu vs fried tofu – the healthier option was credited to that entrée,” the study explained.
There was an almost equal split of omnivore and meatless eateries, with the number of plant-based mains on offer similar in the US (6.6) and elsewhere (6.2). That said, the average number of healthful vegan entrées trended slightly higher stateside (3.4, versus 2.9 in other countries).
Vegan or vegetarian restaurants had a slightly higher number of healthy plant-based dishes on offer, with 24% having a score of seven or above, versus just 13% for eateries that also serve meat.
Meanwhile, 14% of meat-free establishments were found to have zero options without refined grains, saturated fat, or deep-fried components, rising to 26% of omnivore outlets.
Refined grains represented the “largest source of unhealthfulness in entrées”, reducing the scores of dishes in 40% of omnivore eateries and 26% of meatless ones. Following that, meat-serving restaurants were more likely to be penalised for saturated fat (12%), and vegan/vegetarian establishments for deep-fried foods (28%).
Restaurants have the responsibility to ‘promote health over profit’
“There is minimal transparency in the disclosure of nutritional facts that would help health-conscious patrons distinguish between healthful and unhealthful plant-based items. Since most restaurants do not provide detailed information on portion size, calories, sodium, total fat, saturated fat, total sugar, or added sugar content, even knowledgeable consumers may struggle to make informed choices,” the authors said.
“Given the well-established relationship between unhealthful dietary patterns, chronic illness, and mortality – and the relative ease with which nutritional information could be provided – we propose that detailed nutrition facts be made publicly available for every restaurant.”
The researchers advised restaurants to reevaluate the healthfulness of their entrées by using recipes and ingredients driven by dietary guidelines – more and more countries are recommending citizens eat plant-based whole foods and cut back on meat.
“Restaurants have the power, if not the responsibility, to promote health and sustainability rather than profits at the high cost of chronic disease and premature mortality,” the study added.
Consumers are increasingly looking for healthier food options as the battle against ultra-processed food rages on. In the US, nearly half of consumers are eating more plant-based foods because they feel they’re better for their health than meat and dairy.
In Australia, too, two in five people are cutting back on meat, primarily out of health concerns. This is also the main driver for their consumption of plant-based alternatives, with 53% citing it.
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