Nicholas Kristof had a good op-ed in the NY Times yesterday–Obama’s ‘Secretary of Food’?–that summarizes all the changes that are needed in the Department of Agriculture.

Current farm policy in no way reflects my needs as an eater–it’s a colossal waste of money that also ruins life for all our trade partners. Thanks to our subsidies, Mexico, for instance, might actually be obliged to start importing corn syrup from the US–which is utterly retarded, considering where we got corn in the first place, not to mention the deliciousness of cane-sugar Coca-Cola, which I would never want threatened.

Anyway, Kristof’s argument boils down to this:

A Department of Agriculture made sense 100 years ago when 35 percent of Americans engaged in farming. But today, fewer than 2 percent are farmers. In contrast, 100 percent of Americans eat.

At the end, he directs readers to an online petition–Food Democracy Now!–for Obama to consider reform-minded candidates for the Dept of Agriculture seat. Go there–sign it. It only takes a minute. And then mention it anyone else you know who cares remotely about what they put in their mouth.

There’s also another, broader declaration to sign up behind: Declaration for Healthy Food and Agriculture, which lays out the precise ways food policy in the US needs to change.

Personally, I’m not filled with hope that Obama can pull through on this one–his pro-ethanol-subsidy stance makes me think the Monsanto types already have their mitts on him.

But signing the petition sure can’t hurt. You gotta eat, right?

And…you gotta eat right.