A seed towards a sustainable food system in healthcare institutions: the case of the Basque Country

• Published in: Regional studies, regional science Vol. 10; no. 1; pp. 273 - 293
• Main Authors: Alberdi, Goiuri, Magro, Edurne, Aranguren, Mari Jose, Begiristain-Zubillaga, Mirene
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Routledge 31-12-2023; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis Group
• Subjects: Basque Country; Basque people; Biodiversity; Climate change; Consumption; Development policy; exploratory case study; Food; GDP; Government purchasing; Gross Domestic Product; Health care; healthcare system; Hospitals; Osakidetza; Production; Public health; Public sector; Purchasing power; Regional studies; Sustainable development; sustainable food procurement strategy; sustainable food systems
• ISSN: 2168-1376; 2168-1376
• DOI: 10.1080/21681376.2023.2182231

Public procurement of food is seen as a critical tool for a paradigm shift and for facilitating the development of specific policy objectives to build sustainable food environments. Furthermore, the harnessing of the purchasing power of hospitals, prioritizing local and sustainable food, offers the potential to transform food production systems into more resilient production models and bring them in line with current European sustainability strategies. This paper analyses the current situation of sustainable food procurement strategies in Osakidetza, the Basque Health System, and identifies the challenges and action plans needed to develop a sustainable food strategy. Sustainable food procurement is still incipient in Osakidetza. This roadmap proposal is a basic but necessary contribution as a starting point. Likewise, we find contributions from agroecology that are interesting for the construction of sustainable food environments in health systems.