Food and the Health Care Debate

Hi Everyone,

Good day at the garden yesterday...we now have a lot of seeds planted-- kale, turnips, rutabagas, broccoli, peas, lettuce, radish, beets...its going to be a delectable harvest to say the least.

I found this article this morning about the connection of a healthy, local diet to the health care debate. Under the current system, the health care industry has a huge stake in keeping people overweight and unhealthy-- as Pollan puts it, " the market for perscription drugs and medical equipment that manage Type II Diabetes... is one of the brighter spots in the economy." If health insurers were required to take everyone at the same rate there would be a HUGE push to get everyone fit and healthy. If we are able to do that we could eliminate a tenth of all healthcare spending (we currently spend $147 billion to treat obesity and $116 billion to treat Diabetes).

Creating local food systems and cultures is a good place to start.

Here is a link to the article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/opinion/10pollan.html?ref=dining