One of the six values that lie at the heart of NHS is compassion: a commitment to “humanity and kindness.” According to its website, the NHS “searches for the things it can do, however small, to give comfort and relieve suffering… because we care”. You might be surprised, then, to learn that the NHS serves food from animals reared in the most basic welfare conditions permitted in this country – and today MPs are due to debate the report, conducted by the RSPCA and the Campaign for Better Food in Hospitals, that uncovered this scandal.