I first heard food writer Michael Pollan last year and was struck by his statement that staying healthy was a pretty simple task. All you had to do was to "Eat Food." By that he meant avoiding processed food and eating fresh. Don't worry about supplements and all the competing health claims that are put out year in and year out, just shop more from the outside edges of the supermarket, where the fresh stuff is, and less from the inside aisles where the packaged and frozen stuff is.

In a recent Commonwealth Club lecture, Pollan made the point that it is our American diet - a lot of fast food and heavy in red meat - that is killing us, as well as greatly increasing our carbon footprint. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes are the main symptoms. And this is supported by the government's agriculture subsidies to corn growers (that feed the cows), feed lots and the elimination of the normal OSHA, environmental and health restrictions that apply to most other industries. This is where agriculture policy intersects health policy. It is not a pretty picture.

According to Pollan, eating less meat would be the single thing we could do to improve our health, lower our health costs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil and lower our carbon footprint. As close to a no-brainer as I can think of. Not suggesting vegetarianism in any way, Pollan said that were an average meat eater in the US (who eats 400 pounds a year of the stuff) to reduce their meat consumption by just 20%, the greenhouse gas emissions savings would be the equivalent of swapping a Hummer for a Prius. Something to think about as the debate rages over these issues.

Pollan's books are In Defense of Food, The Omnivore's Dilemma, and Food Rules.

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