The American Medical Association (AMA) has passed a new policy in support of practices and policies within health care systems that will promote a sustainable food system, and help educate health care providers and the public about the connection between ecological health and individual health.  I guess the AMA has finally realized that it will take more than just an apple a day to keep the doctor away, but that the apple needs be local and organic if it’s actually going to do us any good.  The AMA’s commitment to a sustainable food system was endorsed by President Obama the other day, when he spoke of how healthy eating habits can lead to lower health care costs.

By acknowledging the interconnected nature of how our food is produced, how it travels and what affect that has on our bodies, it sounds to me like the AMA is embracing a more holistic approach to good health.  If we’re to have a better functioning health care system, we need to recognize the harm that industrial food production poses to our health as well as the health of the planet.  Usafe farming practices put us at risk of increased antibiotic resistance, air and water pollution, bacterial infections, and the list goes on.

The AMA also says that health care facilities will aim to source food locally and organically, which gives me hope that hospital meals could one day soon become edible.  The AMA’s sustainable commitment will be supported by Health Care Without Harm, global coalition of 473 organizations in more than 50 countries working to protect health by reducing pollution in the health care sector.  This could be the beginning of a much healthier future for us all.

Photo: Valerie Everett’s Flickr Photostream (creative commons)