Food options: plant-based meals.

(1) Existing law requires a licensed general acute care hospital, acute psychiatric hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate care facility, special hospital, and nursing facility to employ a dietitian. Existing law imposes criminal sanctions for a violation of provisions, or willful or repeated violations of rules or regulations adopted pursuant to provisions, relating to these licensed facilities. This bill would require these licensed facilities to make available wholesome, plant-based meals of such variety as to meet the needs of patients in accordance with their physicians' orders. The bill would exclude this requirement from the criminal sanctions. (2) Existing law requires each prison inmate to be provided with sufficient plain and wholesome food of such variety as may be most conducive to good health. This bill would require the food provided to those inmates to include the availability of plant-based meals. The bill would require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop a plan to make available the plant-based meals on an overall cost-neutral basis. (3) This bill would make legislative findings and declarations in support of its provisions.