USA: AMA Resolution supports sustainable food

At its annual meeting, the American Medical Association (AMA) has approved a new policy resolution to support practices and policies within health care systems that promote and model a healthy and ecologically sustainable food system, according to PR Newswire. The resolution also calls on the AMA to work with health care and public health organizations to educate them about the importance of healthy and ecologically sustainable food systems.

According to Jamie Harvie, director of the Health Care Without Harm Sustainable Food Work Group, the role of health care providers and facilities in providing education and leadership to help the population understand the link between the way food is being improved and individual health is significant and cannot be overstated. He continues that preventing disease is paramount in the provision of health care. Hospitals, physicians and nurses are ideal leaders and advocates for creating food environments that promote health. This policy is an important contribution to a prevention-based healthcare delivery system.

The AMA's new Sustainable Food policy builds on a report from its Council on Science and Public Health, which notes that locally produced and organic foods reduce the use of fuel, decrease the need for packaging and resultant waste disposal and preserve farmland. The related reduced fuel emissions contribute to cleaner air and in turn, lower the incidence of asthma attacks and other respiratory problems. 

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