As a dietician who works with cancer survivors, I have witnessed the lifesaving power of healthy diets. That is why I am appalled that some lawmakers in the U.S. Senate are backing a $228 billion farm bill that subsidizes unhealthy foods that increase the risk of cancer, obesity and heart disease.

Hundreds of cancer specialists from across the country, as well as the American Medical Association and the President's Cancer Panel, have urged Congress to reform agriculture policies to support and promote healthy foods. But the farm bill now under consideration in the Senate would channel billions of dollars a year in subsidies and price supports to producers of sugar, oil, meat, alcohol and feed crops used to fatten farm animals. High-fat meat products and sugary, processed foods foster America's obesity epidemic, as well as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

There is an alternative. Sens. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., recently introduced the Fresh Act that would reduce subsidies for foods high in fat, cholesterol and sugar and increase funding for nutrition programs that encourage fruit and vegetable consumption. Concerned Americans should ask their senators to support the Fresh Act and other healthy changes to the farm bill.

(Reilly is a registered dietician who works as senior nutritionist for the Cancer Project. - Editor)