The Issue

Health care facilities across the continent are recognizing that the food system — how our food is produced and distributed — is misaligned with dietary guidelines, and is largely reliant on methods of production and distribution that harm public and environmental health.

Far and wide, we are seeing a response. Hospitals have removed their deep fryers, established farmers markets and replaced unhealthy snacks in vendors, and more are buying fresh food that is grown in sustainable ways in the local community.

By adopting healthy food purchasing policies, health care organizations are demonstrating a commitment to "first, do no harm" and treating food and its production and distribution as preventive medicine that protects the health of patients, staff, and communities:

• Catholic Healthcare West rejects genetically engineered and cloned foods
• Time Magazine: Healthier Hospital Food: It's no accident that a punk-rock band from Salt Lake City, Utah, called itself Hospital Food. The typical fare at medical centers is ba-a-a-ad. "When you say 'hospital food,' people laugh because it's so lousy," says Jamie Harvie of Health Care Without Harm. But there's hope...Some health-minded activists have launched a movement to serve patients fresh, seasonal food, and hospitals are beginning to change their menus accordingly.