Interesting article about the political connection between the obesity epidemic and our industrial agricultural system, starring Tom Vilsack, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who calls his “the most important department in government,” and Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and “In Defense of Food.”

“All flesh is grass” says the scripture. Much of the too-ample flesh of Americans (three of five are overweight; one in five is obese) comes from corn, which is a grass. A quarter of the 45,000 items in the average supermarket contain processed corn. Fossil fuels are involved in planting, fertilizing, harvesting, transporting and processing the corn. America’s food industry uses about as much petroleum as America’s automobiles do.