Hospitals put climate change on the menu | AAMC

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Each year, hospitals across the United States dish up billions of meals. Those responsible for feeding thousands of visitors, patients, and employees every day contemplate numerous issues, from nutrition requirements to skyrocketing expenses. But increasingly, they also focus on another significant concern: the environmental impact of what they serve and how. That makes sense given the role that food plays in helping or harming the planet. For example, 34% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide are food-related, according to a 2021 Nature Food article. What’s more, health care has a significant environmental footprint: If the global health care sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest contributor to GHGs. And a large chunk of hospitals’ environmental impact comes from their food services. This reality worries health care leaders who want to avoid contributing to environmental problems that can cause or worsen health conditions for the patients and communities they want

Editor’s note: This article is part of a series on climate change and health. Other articles in this series include stories on how extreme heat affects health, and the impacts of extreme weather on rural, coastal, and underserved communities. Each year, hospitals across the United States dish up billions of meals. Those responsible for feeding thousands of visitors, patients, and employees every day contemplate numerous issues, from nutrition requirements to skyrocketing expenses. But increasingly, they also focus on another significant concern: the environmental impact of what they serve…

Hospitals put climate change on the menu | AAMC

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