Ecological and Nutrition During Coronavirus

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Intro

No meat. No eggs. No milk. Such has been the way at many groceries stores across our nation during the Coronavirus pandemic. The virus which causes COVID-19 has exposed the underbelly of our food system. Is our nation doing its best to promote an ecological and sustain food system? Let's dive deeper.

Ecology

Ecology is a science that explores the mutual relationships of varying organisms and their interactions with their environment. In a way it is like studying the interactions between humans, animals, and the various weather, plants, and natural disasters that can occur. Organisms interact with each and the environment in a sort of three-way interaction. Importantly ecology can and does impact human health, which should obviously be concerning for physical therapists (PTs) and other healthcare providers.

Most PTs are aware of the biopsychosocial model as a great template for delivery care. Another more advanced model known as the biopsychosocial-ecological model takes the environment into greater consideration than the older biopsychosocial model. The biopsycho-ecological model of health, illness, and functional loss uses the concept of Health Environmental Integration (HEI). HEI encourages a more complete understanding of illness, injury, activity limitation, and participation restriction as emerging at the interface between person and environment. HEI is a functional systems theory which embraces all factors, especially those in the environment, in order  to fully understand a patient and their health conditions. HEI consists of 4 spheres: body, mind, physical, and societal. It's vital for PTs to see that our environment, and the corresponding food from which it comes from, has an impact on our health.

Food Industry

Our modern food industry has exploded in growth thanks to mechanization,  food science, industry lobbying, and government subsidies. Early in agricultural history, the use of mechanization allowed farmers higher yields with less effort. Food science brought us sprays and fertilizer, genetically modified foods (GMOs), and processed foods that are shelf-stable nearly anywhere. Industry has flooded cash into the campaigns of many politicians and non-profits, where they can publish only positive findings of their products and ensure adequate support for government financial support. One such support has been government subsidies: the United States' Government has supported the development of certain crops and promoted that farmers must "feed the world." Such high yield demands of limited crops has produced a monoculture of crops and multinational conglomerates that truly don't care about the local residents of their farms.

We see these truths as COVID-19 continues to run rampant in our country. Food shortages show how industry focuses on producing volume for the world and not for their local residents. We also see how the corporations of many of these companies put forward profit over safety, notably in the meat packing industry in South Dakota and Green Bay.  Moreover, the entirety of COVID-19 may have come about because a person consumed an infected bat (at least that's one of many theories). Could the pandemic been avoided if the people of China had a local, trusted source of healthy foods to consume? Possibly. But more importantly we need to see how the greed of some has impacted the environment, which now limits and kills many humans.

Brighter Side

COVID-19 has opened our eyes to many positive things in our world. Greenhouse emissions dropped nearly 17%. Cities once clogged with smog were cleared out, yielding beautiful blue skies. The waterways of Florida became pristine with fishing jumping due to the lack of cruises and boaters on the water. Animals in national parks came out to take back what was once theirs. For a short while the environment had a break.

So what can we, as PTs, learn from all of this? First, we should be advocating for slow, locally supplied food sources. It helps local economies, it puts people back to work, and reduces the chances of infrasturctural failures like we've seen in the past months. Here's a great opinion piece covering just this topic. Second, as PTs we need to consider the interaction with our environment and how it impacts our patients' wellness. For instance, pollution can affect a patient's physical health by impacting their lungs, heart, and organs. Another example would be how food deserts may promote depression and poor lifestyle choices, which in turn reduces PT outcomes. In our clinics, hospital, or rehab facilities we have a somewhat isolated perspective on what interactions happen beyond our reach. Becoming engaged in the community to promote wellness and good nutrition is one small step in a large puzzle of optimal health.

If you like what you see here then know there is more in our 3 board-approved continuing education courses on Nutrition specific for Physical Therapists. Enroll today and use the 20OFF for 20% off our first course!

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Keywords: nutrition, continuing education, ecology, PT, physical therapy, COVID, Coronavirus, food industry

Disclaimer: The above article is written as opinion piece and does not convey specific legal and/or practice act advice.