UPDATE: Sign the Petition HERE.

An association of chemical companies that make fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides have got their hazardous panties in a wad and are on the defensive because Michelle Obama is promoting an organic garden on the lawn of the White House.  The Mid America CropLife Association (MACA) dashed off a letter of reprimand…

“Fresh foods grown conventionally are wholesome and flavorful yet more economical”

Grown conventionally?  More economical?  HUH?

Since when does “conventional” gardening imply that you have to conform to using synthetic chemicals and petroleum based products to have a traditional garden?   And since when is it more economical to have to purchase a bunch of chemical products to get a few tomatoes from your home plot?  Yes it has become all too common for people to use, and misuse, the chemical products these companies sell; but it’s far from being the mandated ideal in gardening and it certainly should not be the norm.

They seem to be concerned that their “contributions” will go unnoticed and unappreciated … and they’re worried that an organic garden on the White House lawn is going to give people the wrong idea about their massive multi-billion dollar business providing environmentally hazardous chemical products to mega agribusiness corporations so they can make profits off the colossal food industry.

Boo Fucking Hoo.

I noticed in the news this morning, here and here, that they are breaking ground today for the new vegetable garden at the White House.  Excellent!

With some activism from groups like Kitchen Gardeners International and their Eat The View campaign, a little editorial pressure from author and organic enthusiast Michael Pollan, and some creative petitioning from others, the idea of turning part of the front lawn at the White House into a sustainable garden space has been getting a lot of attention and support.  Good thing the Obamas (or the administration’s PR people) were listening.

Here’s a layout of what’s to be planted and where it will be located on the South lawn.  It’s not too conveniently located next to the kitchen, but it does look like it will be viewable from the street by visitors at the gates.  That’s good because this will hopefully allow people to see how a vegetable garden can be a beautifully landscaped feature and encourage people to put a vegetable garden in their own yards.

As far as what will be grown, it looks like they have planned to start out with mostly greens, lettuce and spinach, along with your basic peas and onions, and an area for herbs.  The walkways are lined with flowers which will make it extra colorful and appealing. It’s a great start and later they will be adding other things like tomatoes and peppers.

I hope they keep it going and maybe even expand it later. I’m excited to see how it develops.

A vegetable garden is nothing new to the White House lawn, it’s just that in our modern society we have moved away from the responsibility of growing our own food and eating healthy even though it can be cost efficient  once you get a garden established. It would also help improve the environment if more people kept a home garden and relied less on eating food that has been processed and shipped from miles away.

Here’s a great little educational video from the Eat the View campaign that illustrates some of the history…

The Garden of Eatin’: A Short History of America’s Garden by Roger Doiron.

And HERE is a blog devoted to all things culinary going on at the White House or associated with the Obamas. They are also covering the new vegetable garden project and should have some good updates in the future.