Fixing our nation's diet & food system

There's no way around it: Americans have one of the worst diets in the developed world. That's absolutely insane given our national wealth and prosperity, relative to so much of the planet. We eat way too many processed and non-nutritious foods, and the result is we're a bunch of fatties with an epidemic of diabetes and raising a generation of overweight and obese children.
Obese children!

The terrific food writer Mark Bittman published "A Food Manifesto for the Future" this week in the Times, and it's been the "most emailed" article all week. Click on the title for a link to the whole article. Here are a few of his main points:

--End government subsidies for processed foods, and instead subsidize farmers who produce actual food for direct consumption

--Reorganize both the USDA and the FDA

--Get rid of the horrible, unsanitary, polluitng, inhumane "concentrated-animal-feeding operations" that produce most of our meet (and follow Healthy Foodie rule #1: No supermarket or fast-food meat. Don't eat it!!)

--Encourage and subsidize home cooking

--Tax the marketing and sale of unhealthful foods.

There's more, so please read the entire piece.