Yes, the White House will grow veggies, Michelle Obama says
By Judy Lowe | 03.20.09
Sometimes, a tiny grass-roots effort does succeed in a big way, and maybe an online petition signed by thousands had something to do with it. Or maybe it was the influence of famous chef and organic food guru Alice Waters’s one-on-one conversation with the first lady and her televised plea.
But Michelle Obama confirmed, in an interview for O, Oprah’s magazine, that part of the White House’s south Lawn will be dug up for a vegetable plot, reports treehugger. This harks back to World War II, when Eleanor Roosevelt had veggies grown at the first family’s residence as part of the Victory Garden effort.
When breaking ground for the garden today, Mrs. Obama says that kids from area elementary schools will help plant the garden and harvest its produce. And she anticipates an educational component in the garden for the youngesters who participate.
You have to assume that the garden – which, CNN says, is supposed to feed White House inhabitants and guests – won’t contain beets. Just as the first President Bush disliked broccoli — and heard all sorts of jokes about it — President Obama doesn’t eat beets. I haven’t heard any jokes about that yet.
Michael Pollan, author of “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” and other food-related books, had advised (jokingly?) against planting arugula, saying that it was too upscale for a populist garden. But Mrs. Obama says it will be one of the veggies in the garden.
If you’re new to this discussion, here’s some background info, as well as on Mrs. Obama and community gardens and about an effort to name a “farmer” to tend the hoped-for White House garden.
The garden is strictly symbolic, of course, but in a year that’s seeing many more ordinary Americans than usual planting vegetables, it’s considered a good move.
Note: We invite you to click here to visit the Monitor’s gardening site, which offers articles, essays, and blog posts on a variety of gardening topics.
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2. John C. Putnam | 03.20.09
Vegetable gardening, even if symbolic, leaves one more in love with his
planet. As a child during WW II I watched everyone in the neighborhood
plant “Victory Gardens” to lessen the demand for commercial products.
And guess what? Everyone loved it from the youngest to the oldest. Some
had but a small patch of soil to work with but Mother Earth provided them
with miracles.
3. redrockraven | 03.20.09
Approximately a third of the automobile pollution in this country is attributable to growing, preparing and transporting food to the kitchen table. It looks to me like if more people planted a garden and became a little more self-sufficient (the American Ideal), that this would be a great benefit to air our quality and save millions of barrels of oil each year. It is also very healthy to get exercise and sunshine while working in your garden and to eat the fresh fruits of your efforts. From the overweight appearance of many in America, we could all learn to live healthier lives.
4. Allison Landers | 03.21.09
Alice Waters had nothing to do with this, and it’s a pity you’re perpetuating this myth. It was all thanks to the efforts of Roger Doiron at Kitchen Gardeners International, and Casey Gustaworow and Daniel Bowman Simon at The White House Organic Farm Project. Both of these organizations worked for months and gathered tens of thousands of petition signatures to bring the idea of a White House Garden to the Obamas.
The White House Sous Chef and and White House Landscape gardener Dale Heaney will oversee the garden. A good information link with the real story is here at the official Obama Food blog:
http://tinyurl.com/ddtynn
5. Judy Lowe | 03.21.09
Since the beginning, we’ve covered Roger Doiron’s efforts and have written several posts about the White House Farmer project. I would never try to belittle their efforts. But I wouldn’t discount Alice Waters’s influence either. She knows the Obamas personally and has huge influence in the food world. As to the “official” Obama Food Blog, it’s simply a blog by Eddie Gehman Kohan, an “ag policy wonkette,” as she describes herself, who lives (I think) in Los Angeles. Blogs, by their very nature, are personal takes on a topic.
6. Loretta Hall | 03.22.09
The gardening clip with the 1st Lady is reminiscent of days gone by…but I love it. Encourage 4-H clubs that were #1 in the past for agricultural families in the past. Your daughters can become poster children for agricultural endeavors for families, neighbors, blocks. Sharing in a time of intense need…children living in street, children being raised in tent cities on the outer limits with so much negative stigma. God be with you!!
7. Loretta Hall | 03.22.09
Mr. President & First Lady, you are such a fresh inspiration to the American public, but your burden is soooo heavy due to the “frat house appointment” of the Bush administration. You have soooo much on your plate and yet you willingly shoulder this terrible burden. Pull back…just a couple of steps from the public…give yourselves breathing room and decide together what is best for the good of the American Public. God bless you both, thank you.
8. JC | 03.23.09
This looks really great on TV but the reality is very different. I was laid off (along with dozens of others) from my state job within a week of “The Obamas” taking the Presidency. My job was interviewing and approving poor and homeless people and families for food stamps. With this demand increasing daily, I don’t see how digging up the lawn is really helping people who don’t even have a patch of dirt.
9. JOE N. DAVIDSON | 03.23.09
I WOULD LIKE TO OFFER A FREE DRIP IRRIGATION SYSTEM TO THE WHITE HOUSE FOR THE NEW VEG. GARDEN. DRIP IRRIGATION IS A TREMENDOUS WATER CONSERVATION TOOL AND WOULD MAKE A GREAT EXAMPLE TO THE NATION. I HAVE NOT BEEN ABLE TO GET A MESSAGE TO THE WHITE HOUSE. I WOULD APPRECIATE ANY HELP.
JOE N. DAVIDSON, CEO
BERRY HILL IRRIGATION, INC.
10. Harriet Drummond | 04.01.09
I was in Washington D.C. recently. On my way from the Metro stop to the Museum of the American Indian I was pleasantly surprised to pass a community garden and compost heap across the street from the National Air and Space Museum. A woman was photographing it and commented that she knew of several neighborhoods which “could use a garden like this more than this neighborhood needs it.”
I am pleased to read that Michelle Obama is devoting some of the environmentally-bad White House lawn to growing vegetables and educating children.
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1. redrockraven | 03.20.09
This is setting a great example of family values. It is a sign that a family with children is living in the white house again. From the size of this garden, Michelle must be planning on lots of help from other family members.
More people should plant gardens. There is always plenty of wildlife to see in a garden; from butterflies to dragonflies and hummingbirds. There is nothing better than fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach or chard. Leave some room for some cantaloupe and summer crook neck also. My family members have planted a garden every year since WWII. There is nothing more All-American than planting a Victory Garden.