American Medical Association Passes Resolution to Emphasize the Power of Plant-Based Foods in Preventing Life-Threatening Conditions and Promoting Planetary Health

CHICAGO-Doctors will soon be eating more plant-based foods, if the American Medical Association (AMA) has anything to say about it. The AMA House of Delegates on June 8, 2026, called for increasing plant-based options at medical meetings. These healthful choices not only help keep doctors healthy but also help doctors learn about healthful foods they can recommend to patients. Plant-based foods can help people improve heart health, lower blood pressure, prevent diabetes, and maintain a healthy weight, among other benefits.

The AMA also noted the role of plant-based choices for planetary health. A plant-based diet is associated with a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and cumulative energy demand compared to the Standard American Diet, according to research published in JAMA Network Open.

“The old adage, ‘Physician, heal thyself,’ now really means something,” said Neal Barnard, MD, president of the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “We thank the AMA for speaking up for plant-based foods to help doctors, as well as their patients.”  The Physicians Committee is a nonprofit public health advocacy organization with 17,000 doctor members,

The AMA has previously called for plant-based foods to be available in hospitals, schools, and food assistance programs, and called for public education on the role of plant-based diets and other lifestyle changes to reduce breast cancer risk. AMA policy considers meat and dairy products to be no more than optional in federal policy.

Research studies at the Physicians Committee have shown the plant-based diets are more powerful than other diets for many health conditions, and are easier for people to sustain, because they do not require limits on calories, portions, or carbohydrates.

The full text of the new AMA policy, approved on June 8, 2026, is as follows:

RESOLVED, that our American Medical Association encourages the use of evidence-based behavioral science strategies to promote healthier dietary choices at professional gatherings, while respecting individual autonomy.

RESOLVED, that our American Medical Association recognizes the importance of modeling prevention through food choices at its own meetings whenever possible, with an emphasis on increasing the plant-based food choice options which also contain minimal contributions from animal products, as an exemplary method for the promotion of individual and planetary health.