Judging by experiences of my late mother and my wife at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, I can say if you have to go to a hospital, Saint Luke’s is a good choice. For 17 years, it has received a rating as one of America’s Best Hospitals.

St. Luke’s and the Houston area hospitals did not get high acclaim by accident. There was a lot of work. Now, I am asking St. Luke’s to be a leader in the nutrition and environmental fields.

I am asking them to no longer purchase:

• bleached coffee filters,

• any product with aspartame (the sweetener),

• white bread, and,

• bottled water.

Discontinue the McDonald’s franchise in their building and chose a provider of healthy food.

I am asking them to purchase:

• fresh food from the farmer’s markets,

• products without added sugar or salt,

• “green” products (energy efficient, Green Star, or environmentally degradable), and,

• herbicides and pesticides with natural ingredients.

The recommendation to no longer purchase products with aspartame may be a surprise since it is one of the most widely used artificial sweetener, used in NutraSweet, Equal and Spoonful. Studies in the 1970s showed that aspartame caused various types of brain tumors in rats. Out of 90 independent studies, 83 found one or more problems with aspartame. Of the 74 studies funded by the aspartame industry (Monsanto, G.D. Searle and ILSI), there were no reports of any difficulties. In January 1977, Food and Drug Administration Chief Counsel Richard Merrill formally asked the U.S. Attorney’s office to convene a grand jury to decide whether to indict G.D. Searle, for knowingly misrepresenting “findings, concealing material facts and making false statements” in aspartame safety tests. The fact that the investigation never happened should be wakeup call to anyone who still believes that safety concerns trump corporate profit. Devra Davis describes skullduggery in pages 419-426 of her book, The Secret History of the War on Cancer.

There is no indication that those who use aspartame products actually lose weight. There is some indication that it creates a sugar deficit, making people seek more sugar from other sources.

I am hoping that Saint Luke’s Episcopal Hospital will be a leader and that other medical facilities will follow. Since grocery stores and restaurants may be committing economic suicide by being the first to take the lead, I am hoping that institutions - school districts, the Texas Department of Corrections, municipal entities and churches - that will lead the way.

Ed O’Rourke is an environmental accountant in Houston.