Look underwater for our protein: When I speak about putting America on a Mediterranean diet, what I really mean is a “Pesca-terranean diet” — that is, a diet where only a spare amount of animal protein is consumed and where that small amount comes to us from the sea. This is exactly what the Greek version of the Mediterranean diet looks like.

As the clinician Artemis Simopoulos pointed out to me, two meatless days a week are the norm in Greek Orthodox communities. This religious provision encouraged traditional communities to eat fish not only on Fridays but on Wednesdays as well. Recent epidemiological evidence links two portions of seafood a week with lower blood pressure, lower LDL cholesterol and lower triglycerides. In spite of this, American seafood consumption has stayed consistently low compared with other developed countries.

How could America increase its fish consumption without destroying its oceans? Once again, China’s 25 percent tariff makes the argument for us. Even though Americans chronically under-eat fish and shellfish, American fishermen actually export about a third of the seafood they catch, usually to Asia. With tariffs now making exporting harder, we could redirect American wild fish to schools and other institutions that serve children — a good way to get the next generation of American eaters pointed in a healthier direction.

Americans could also look to expand the farming of seafood. Yes, aquaculture can be problematic, but compared with landfood production it is, as the noted marine ecologist Steve Gaines put it to me recently, “consistently better and in many cases dramatically better than anything we do on land.” This applies to carbon footprint, freshwater consumption and the preservation of open space, especially when the creatures being aquacultured are filter feeders like mussels, clams and edible seaweeds.

But with aquaculture, again Americans lag. The United States ranks 15th in total seafood pounds grown, 17th if you include seaweed, just behind North Korea. And no wonder: While the United States spends $15 billion to promote commodity crops, it spends less than $1 billion on all domestic seafood-related programs, both wild and farmed.

Turn Fruits and Vegetables from “Specialty Crops” into Heartland Crops: One of the reasons the diet of Crete was so high in leafy greens and other vegetables is that Cretan food culture evolved in a spare natural environment. “We are hungry most of the time,” one research subject lamented to Allbaugh’s team.