Mat på sykehus og helsevesen

Mat på norske sykehus og i helsevesenet ellers kan og bør bli sunnere og mer bærekraftig. Dette gjelder både mat for pasienter, helsepersonell og i kantiner.

Mange land har satt i gang prosjekter med grønnere og mer bærekraftig kost på sykehus. Dette gir flere gevinster: Bedre helse for personell og pasienter, lavere pengekostnader, bidrag til bærekraft, inkluderende og variert.

USA, Tyskland, Sør Afrika, Sverige er noen eksempler.

1. The American Medical Association (AMA) has passed a resolution encouraging healthy food options be available in hospitals. The AMA hereby calls on U.S. hospitals to improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by: (a) providing a variety of healthy food, including plant-based meals, and meals that are low in fat, sodium, and added sugars; (b) eliminating processed meats from menus; and (c) providing and promoting healthy beverages.

“By adopting plant-based options and eliminating cancer-causing food products, hospitals not only provide a vital service to patients, staff, and visitors. They also serve a key educational function, modeling healthful habits. In the words of the American College of Cardiology, hospitalization can be a “teachable moment.” ”

Planting a Seed: Heart-Healthy Food Recommendations for Hospitals. American College of Cardiology, 2017.

2. Similarly, in 2018, the state of California mandated the availability of plant-based meals for patients. And there are hospitals in Gainesville, Florida, the Bronx, Manhattan, Denver, and Tampa all offering 100 percent plant-based meals to their patients on a separate menu and distributing materials to inpatients to improve their education on the role of diet, especially plant-based diets, in chronic disease.

3. New York: https://www.nychealthandhospitals.org/pressrelease/nyc-health-hospitals-now-serving-plant-based-meals-as-primary-dinner-option-for-inpatients-at-all-of-its-11-public-hospitals/

4. Verktøy for de som er involvert i matlaging: https://www.forwardfood.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Healthcare-self-guided-toolkit-4-10-20.pdf (ref. (fra https://www.forwardfood.org/ med mye mer)

5. PCRM har Healthy Hospital Program: https://www.pcrm.org/healthy-hospital-program
6. Tyskland: Ernährung im Krankenhaus – Offener Brief • Physicians Association for Nutrition (pan-int.org) og Prosjekt Inge Projekts „INGE“ lenke