Surgery
University of British Columbia
As the health sector faces a growing mandate for climate action and sustainability, food services represent one of the most immediate and high-impact opportunities for change. This session will explore how health care organizations can prepare for emerging sustainability mandates and accreditation standards that will require planetary health–aligned menus, while also using menus, procurement, and food environments to lead broader systems change. Framed within Nourish’s 100 Million Better Bites campaign, presenters will share a practical roadmap for implementing a Planetary Health Menu Framework grounded in nutrition science, operational realities, and culinary innovation. Drawing on pilot projects, implementation experience, and current research, the session will highlight strategies to transition to plant-forward menus in inpatient and retail settings while maintaining nutrition quality, patient satisfaction, and cultural relevance. Participants will leave with actionable tools to engage interdisciplinary partners, implement change, and measure sustainability and health outcomes.
Dr. Annie Lalande is a fourth-year General Surgery resident at the University of British Columbia. She completed her medical degree at McGill University and earned her PhD in 2025 from the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC. Her doctoral research explored how hospital food systems can improve patient nutrition while advancing environmental sustainability. At Vancouver General Hospital, she evaluated baseline menu performance, identifying gaps in patient satisfaction, nutritional adequacy, and high levels of food waste, alongside the significant environmental impact of animal-based proteins. She then led the development and evaluation of a novel planetary health menu—featuring plant-forward, culturally diverse, and nutritionally balanced meals—which increased plant-based uptake, maintained high patient acceptability, and reduced food waste. Her work demonstrates that plant-rich diets can be successfully integrated into acute care settings, with co-benefits for patient care and climate mitigation.