Source Article: http://inourishgently.com/american-medical-association-tells-hospitals-go-vegan-ban-meat-dairy/

Interesting question and asked in an interesting way.

Establishing the facts on which to base a reply, as have been wisely pointed out by other responses (see Beth Goldowitz), the article does not indicate that the AMA is making all hospitals go vegan. The article does say:

“…all hospitals and medical institutions should not only start to offer plant-based foods in every facility but should also REMOVE ALL MEAT, DAIRY, and EGGS from their menus.”

and that is was resolved by the AMA:

“That our American Medical Association hereby call on US hospitals to improve the health of patients, staff, and visitors by (1) providing and promoting plant-based meals that are low in fat, sodium, and added sugars for hospital patients, staff, and visitors, and (2) eliminating the use of processed meats from patient menus. (Directive to Take Action)”

Secondly, in my many years of enjoying and learning about a plant-based diet, I have yet to encounter a scientifically supported article that indicated that a plant-based diet is unhealthy.

Those facts established, there are some obvious conclusions in the article:

1. Animal-based foods, especially those that are heavily processed do not, at best, promote or support human health and at worst promote disease.
2. A plant-based diet that adheres to the general criteria of being nutritionally rich and fiber dense (remember, a diet of beer and potato chips is plant-based) is associated with lower instances of many common human diseases.
3. Change, especially when it is resisted by a moneyed opposition (ie the processed food industry, meat-based food industry) comes slowly. Facts 1. and 2. above are likely not known by the majority of people in the world and thus rarely recognized by medical professionals and administrators. As the evidence supporting the facts grows it is reaching the point where it can no longer be suppressed and thus the risk of ignoring it is greater than the risk of accepting it.

Though the question suggests a perspective not supported by the referenced article, it does bring additional attention to a positive development and one that provides the forces that oppose promoting a plant-based diet and a vegan lifestyle fact-based evidence that is challenging to counter.

This post appeared originally on Quora.com: http://qr.ae/TUT5E3