Big Ag Chemical Companies Resent White House Organic Garden; Want "Crop Protection Products" Used

Michelle Obama has started an organic White House Kitchen Garden and dug up part of the White House South Lawn to do it. Lots of good press. Even the Wall Street Journal purred:

Not since Eleanor Roosevelt’s World War II-era “Victory Garden,” has an administration eaten what it has grown on the White House grounds. Obama policy adviser Jocelyn Frye said the garden fits into the first lady’s broader agenda of promoting a healthy work-life balance for families.

The same Wall Street Journal story reported that the new White House Food Initiative coordinator is Sam Kass, Chicago-based local and slow food maven. He will help make health policy during the daytime and cook healthy for the Obamas at night. “The message is that food is really important with the health crisis we’re in,” Kass said. “Cooking is a big part of that.” So far, so good.

Now comes the blowback.  The Big Ag companies are aghast. That's the essence of a long letter addressed to "Mrs. Barack Obama," that urges her to "to consider using crop protection products and to recognize the importance of agriculture to the entire U.S. economy." It further asks that she "recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply." So whines the Mid-America CropLife Association, a trade association of chemical and other agriculture suppliers.  Among the members are Monsanto, Dow Agrosciences, DuPont Crop Protection, and many other large companies, many of whom have "warehouse" or "fertilizer" or "chemical" in their corporate name.

Translation: don't bring in cute DC schoolkids to weed that garden and keep it "organic," whatever that term still means these days. Spray those weeds with killer chemicals like real American farm (corporations) do.

The letter, in its entirety, is a gem of public relations obfuscation, and is available at the always-valuable La Vida Locovore.

(hat tip: MyDD.com)

- Barry Orton

Comments

[anon]

One of the funnier things about this is that anyone who has spent any time on a farm knows that farmers have gardens, that the two are separate. You farm crops to sell, you garden for your home and your family, organically or otherwise. At least that's the way I remember it. Maybe things have changed.

[Rich Preston]

Unless they hire a pro, my bet is that w/o any fertilizer nor pesticides; this garden will soon resemble a dandelion field.

Good luck to the First Lady in her efforts, but I know how hard it is to go Green and how quickly I ditched my efforts in favor of "protection products."

[Ann]

This is wonderful to hear! Especially since the introduction of an organic weed killer made with citrus oil that works just as well as the traditional synthetic weed killer - glyphosate. And I hear approval was given for their agricultural version - so organic farmers will now have a weed killer to use and traditional farmers can use this too. So maybe the big boys are a bit disgruntled, but who cares. There is a product out there to use and people are sick of all the chemicals in farming (no pun intended) and maybe the big boys will start looking at changing their ways and offering more environmentally friendly products. I say way to go White House!

[Rich Preston]

Ann, got a link? I need me soma that.

[Brian]

Shouldn't we really be focusing on the pro corporate Ag Secretary we are stuck with? Governor Vilsack?

Shouldn't his ideas be the focus of discussion and the fact that a real change administration never would have appointed him?

I mean, I just thought I'd ask.

[antpoppa]

Hello Rich

Here is a link for you. Tours are available.

http://www.growingpower.org/

[Charles]

This is exactly the reason why we should be supporting independent farmers who are trying to support whatever organic production they have left. Like this farmer for example:

http://www.americasheartland.org/episodes/episode_115/organic.htm