Doctors and Sustainable Food

Three of the leading causes of death in the United States, Heart Disease, Stroke, and Diabetes are all heavily influenced by diet.  These diseases are very likely preventable by changing what we eat.  Unfortunately, to many of us continue to maintain diets that promote, instead of prevent these diseases. Also health care providers have really not made prevention of disease through diet a priority. This is understandable though as there have been many mixed messages about what we should eat and getting people to change is very difficult.  Well hopefully this is going to change.  About 1 month ago today, the AMA passed a new policy resolution (download it here) in support of practices in health care facilities and education by providers about sustainable food.  The new resolutions state:

• That our American Medical Association (AMA) support practices and policies in medical schools, hospitals, and other health care facilities that support and model a healthy food system, which provides food and beverages of naturally high nutritional quality, is environmentally sustainable and economically viable, and supports human dignity and justice.
• That our AMA encourage the development of a healthier food system through the US Farm Bill and other federal legislation.
• That our AMA consider working with other health care and public health organizations to educate the health care community and the public about the importance of healthy and ecologically sustainable food systems.

As a physician who cares about where our food comes from and what that means for our health, I was very excited to read about this new policy.  Combining this new AMA stance with some of the previous policies (below), the AMA is showing strong support for sustainable agriculture as a way to create a healthier population and word. 

• Encourage health care facilities to purchase and serve food that promotes health and prevents disease.
• Oppose the nontherapeutic use of antimicrobials in agriculture.
• Support the development and use of ecologically sustainable products, foods, and materials when possible, as well as community-wide adoption of “green” initiatives and activities by organizations, businesses, and health care entities.

As exciting as it is that the AMA is showing support for these issues, we need more doctors to take notice and for medical schools to teach students about these important issues.  I know I certainly received no education about good, clean, and fair food while I was in medical school.  Any reform to our health care system is going to mean major changes to the way we teach and practice medicine.  The practice of prevention through a diet of sustainable foods is going to have to be an important part.

Comments

[Ulla]

Have you heard of Ken Jaffe? He is a good friend of my family. He used to be a doctor in Park Slope but thought he could do more for health raising grass-fed beef. So he moved to the catskills and is farming: http://slopefarms.com/
My sister and I actually designed his site!

[Michael]

Cool. I haven't heard of him or slope farms. Thanks so much for the link Ulla! Do you know what kind of cows they are raising? I don't see it on the website.

[Ken Jaffe/Slope Farms]

Hi Michael and Ulla,

Ken Jaffe from Slope Farms here. I found the link to Dairy Show on my webhosting info. This is a great site.

The AMA statement on sustainable food is actually (surprise!) a pretty good first step. In terms of developing local and regional food systems, hospitals can play two very important roles through their procurement policies. By purchasing locally, hospital can send a powerful message about the benefits of local and sustainable food for personal health and the environment health. Hospitals can also create a steady, "institutional" demand that can really help food producers have predictable base of sales so they can grow and thrive.

As a physician I was originally attracted to the idea of grass fed beef by the health benefits of the fat profile of the meat (much more omega-3 fats and CLA, much less total fat). But I started to raise and market cattle when I understood that the regional production of grass fed meats creates a group of other benefit which I feel are very important: farmland preservation, economic development for struggling rural farming communities, and human treatment of animals. We are now selling over 100 finished beef animals a year, mostly to NYC. It's mostly an agricultural food business, but in my doctor moments I like to think of it as 'applied public health'.

And Michael, our cattle are mostly Angus, with some genetics from Simmental and Scottish Highland mixed in to produce cattle which do well on only grass, and thrive in our very cold winters.

I'm going to do some legwork on what the AMA is really up to with this policy statement and I'll give you some follow up.

Best,
Ken Jaffe
Slope Farms
Meredith, NY
www.slopefarms.com (site create by Ulla)

[Michael]

Hi Ken,

I'm glad you like the site! Thanks for the great comment. I think your right about hospitals, they can indeed play a very important role in developing and sustaining our local and regional food systems. Hopefully more physicians will start thinking more like you, with regards to nutrition and public health, and push for this kind of change at their institutions.

Thanks for the info about your cows too. I'm very curious about your transition from medicine to farming. We'll have to talk about it sometime.

Please do keep us posted on what you find out from the AMA.

Thanks,
Michael