Healthcare Reform

     The United States spends $8.3 BILLION per year on about 2.2 BILLION pounds of pesticides.  Over 900,000 US farms use pesticides, in fact, they use 75% of the over 20,000 pesticides registered for use in the United States.  This is according to the Pesticide Action Network.  While these numbers are staggering, the real shock comes with the EPA's evaluation of these pesticides.  The FDA states that 90% of all fungicides, 60% of all herbicides, and 30% of all insecticides are considered carcinogenic!  Hmmm, I am no doctorate holding intellectual mastermind, but perhaps this could be detrimental to the people who eat this stuff.
     This is just one facet of the food supply here in the United States that should cause us all concern, but a very important one.   This leads me to a novel idea.  We are in the midst of a great battle over the future of healthcare.  I submit, that perhaps the greatest effect we could have on the health of this nation is the purification of it's food supply.  There is an old adage that says "you are what you eat", so if we eat carcinogens what happens to our bodies?  That is, of course, a rhetorical question. If we could reduce the number of preventable diseases (cancer, diabetes, etc.), we could ultimately save a ton of money on healthcare and really reduce the cost of healthcare to the consumer.  This seems so basic, but will probably come across as a radical idea to many.
     In conclusion, my healthcare reform is simple:  Supply our country with nutritious whole foods that are free of harmful pesticides, and watch what happens to the cost of healthcare.  "Are you listening Washington?"