Recently Released Meat Procurement Guide and Sustainable Food Case Studies Demonstrate Growing Demand

by Hillary M. Bisnett 

What do McDonalds, Panera Bread, Subway, Chick-fil-A, and American hospitals have in common? They are all taking steps to serve more sustainably-raised foods including meat and poultry raised without the routine use of antibiotics. The retail and restaurant sector has been vocal, releasing statements in national media outlets such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, but they aren’t alone, food service in every sector is demanding sustainable foods.

Significant health and environmental consequences are associated with industrialized meat and poultry production and distribution, including antibiotic resistance, and air and water contamination. The healthcare sector is especially cognizant of the problems associated with the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in animal agriculture. Around 80% of the antibiotics sold in the United States are used for this purpose. The majority of these are not used to treat sick animals, but are routinely administered in feed and water to compensate for unsanitary and overcrowded living conditions. This subtherapeutic application of antibiotics is breeding antibiotic resistant bacterial strains contributing to antibiotic resistant infections in humans. Every year, 2 million people get infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria and 23,000 of them die as a result.

Health Care Procurement Guide: Sustainably-raised Meat and Poultry

Health Procurement Guide - Sustainably-raised Meat and Poultry

This health care procurement guide, focused on meat and poultry, helps facilities start purchasing plans and overcome barriers to identifying and accessing sustainably-raised or grown products. 

Americans eat more than twice the global average for meat consumption. Hospital food service operations often mirror this trend. However, facilities across the nation are taking action to leverage their moral authority as centers for public health by increasing sustainable food options on their menus and stewarding antibiotics through food service.

In order to help facilities start purchasing plans that take these critical issues into consideration and overcome barriers to identifying and accessing sustainably-raised or -grown products, Healthy Food in Health Care, a national program of Health Care Without Harm has released a new procurement guide for sustainably-raised meat and poultry. In addition hospital leaders are featured in a series of purchasing case studies

Sustainable Food Purchasing in Hospitals - Case Studies

Hospitals can model sustainable procurement and healthier food choices and can provide an ideal setting to inform the communities they serve about the connections between food, health, and the environment. This document features case studies from several leading institutions. 

The Health Care Procurement Guide: Sustainably-raised Meat and Poultry can serve as a tool to make menu modifications, determine what is available and communicate preferences to vendors, offer options for alternative purchasing pathways such as using farmer cooperatives or food hubs, and even benchmark your progress against other facilities. 

In 2015, Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth found that more than half of hospitals surveyed were purchasing meat and poultry products raised without routine antibiotic use, and were spending an average of nearly 15% of their food budget on local and sustainable foods. More than 400 hospitals are working toward a goal of making 20% of their meat purchases come from animals raised without routine antibiotic use.   

Hospitals all over the country are leading by example. Palomar Health in California began its journey in 2010 by reducing meat consumption by 10% per year for three years running, held a plant-based chef training for staff and is now aiming for a procurement goal of 65% this year. Overlake Medical Center in Washington is reporting that 79% of its total meat purchases are from animals raised without routine antibiotics. 

Hospitals can make progress quickly, even if they are new to sustainable purchasing practices. In just over a year the University Hospitals Health System in Ohio has been able to purchase 23% of its meat from sources that do not use antibiotics routinely. The successes of many other hospitals and health systems are featured in the Sustainable Meat and Poultry Purchasing Guide and the Sustainable Food Purchasing in Hospitals case studies. 

By serving local and sustainable foods, hospitals can shift their spending toward foods that provide health, social and environmental benefits that are consistent with prevention-based medicine.


Hillary M. Bisnett National is the National Procurement Director of Health Care Without Harm's Healthy Food in Health Care program.