In a New York Times article this week, the University of California, San Francisco Health Sciences Center, provided a stunning example of an institution which is truly standing in its integrity. A campus of over 24,000 employees, UCSF has removed all sugar added beverages from its campus cafeterias and food vendors. The reason has to do with wanting to support the health of the employees and staff at the University.
“We’re a public health institution, and there’s something not right about us making money off of products that we know are making people sick,” said Laura Schmidt, a professor at the medical school who spearheaded the beverage initiative. “How dare we profit off of a product that our own doctors say causes metabolic disease?”
This evolutionary move began last July, and the University is looking forward to publishing studies on the metabolic changes in some 217 participants from whom they have gathered before and after blood samples.
This is a big step towards building a sense of authority over our own work environments and not allowing corporate interests to dictate what product options we are offered at our places of business.
Node Smith, associate editor for NDNR, is a fifth year naturopathic medical student at NUNM, where he has been instrumental in maintaining a firm connection to the philosophy and heritage of naturopathic medicine amongst the next generation of docs. He helped found the first multi-generational experiential retreat, which brings elders, alumni, and students together for a weekend campout where naturopathic medicine and medical philosophy are experienced in nature. Three years ago he helped found the non-profit, Association for Naturopathic ReVitalization (ANR), for which he serves as the board chairman. ANR has a mission to inspire health practitioners to embody the naturopathic principles through experiential education. Node also has a firm belief that the next era of naturopathic medicine will see a resurgence of in-patient facilities which use fasting, earthing, hydrotherapy and homeopathy to bring people back from chronic diseases of modern living; he is involved in numerous conversations and projects to bring about this vision.