I wish I could “friend” Michelle Obama—in real life, not on MyFace or whatever that thing is called.
Last week, she sent a verbal Valentine to community gardens. More recently, she snuck a bunch of reporters into the White House kitchen, where she sang the praises of local food. According to a New York Times report, the First Lady served up a discourse worthy of the Berkeley sustainable-food doyenne Alice Waters:
When food is grown locally, [Obama] said, “oftentimes it tastes really good, and when you’re dealing with kids, you want to get them to try that carrot.”
“If it tastes like a real carrot, and it’s really sweet, they’re going to think that it’s a piece of candy,” she continued. “So my kids are more inclined to try different vegetables if they are fresh and local and delicious.”
Now, some wags might protest that, as the Times reports, Wagyu beef appeared on the menu that night. Was it imported all the way from Japan? Fed on grass—or industrial corn? Why isn’t the White House sourcing beef from celebrated, pastured-based nearby farms like Polyface?
All legit questions, but ... when can we come by and perform a perfection-check on your fridge and larder?
I like Ms. Obama, not just because she can wax Waters-esque about carrots. I also admire her sharp critical edge—the one she displayed during the campaign, when she made her famous speech about being proud of America for the first time in a while.
She got pilloried by cable TV hosts and muzzled by campaign handlers, but she had a point: 30 years of stagnant wages, a Ponzi-like financial system reliant on a series of absurd bubbles, a hollowed-out education system, the buildout of a high-profit, low-nutrition, high-polluting food system, the willlful refusal to address vital issues like climate change…
As Ms. Obama finds her sea legs aboard the good ship White House, I hope she continues to explore her inner locavore—and season it with a dash of critical political/economic thought.
I drink raw milk (sold illegally on the underground market)
Obama energy speech contained few policy specifics, but shaped forward-looking narrative
Comments
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Ted Clayton Posted 10:17 am
24 Feb 2009
It works for Michelle, sure, but it also has to work for Barack, and for the Administration.
In what sense does it work for the President? Well, it cloaks subversion in a chef's apron, and just a bit more nuanced, The American Flag.
What subversion, you ask? Why, subversion of the agribusiness hegemony, for one. The Chiquita multinational model, for two, and most scruilous of all, the Revelation of Globalization, for three.
Locally, cumulatively, we have tremendous capacity. Stimulating demand for local food production could seriously impact established agri-interests.
If local carrots are sweeter and tastier, then what are industrially-sourced carrots? Why they're chopped liver - that's exactly right.
It is popular among social activists to assert (and believe) that the only way we will ever get Americans out from behind the wheel of their beloved gas-guzzling chariots, is to force them out. The same existentialism arises in high politics.
There is no way to displace the Detroit auto-industry, or regulate them into a more socially-conscious incarnation. First they must be led unawares across a field of gopher-holes, at high speed, whereupon they break both legs at the knees. Writhing on the ground, they may have a better ear for reason.
Likewise, there is nothing that can be done - directly - with agribusiness and the vast institution of agricultural subsidies.
Not without some carefully laid subversion.
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egbooth Posted 12:10 pm
24 Feb 2009
Put it in the frame of Eleanor Roosevelt. Plant a "victory" garden. We have two wars and an economy in shambles. Is the idea of pinching pennies and producing your own food really that heretical in this country?
Planting a White House garden may sound like a shallow ploy but think about some of the potential benefits. An immediate benefit would be to source some local DC food pantries but the more significant benefits would be to put the issue of food and farming into the national conversation. Imagine all of the people that would be inspired to create their own garden. Perhaps it could be a turning point for creating a healthy child raised on nutritious food. Or the moment when someone really "gets" the natural world and is inspired to learn more. You never know what kind of impact it could create.
Check out http://www.eattheview.org to join the effort to bring this to reality.
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Pangolin Posted 5:42 pm
24 Feb 2009
If people start pulling vegetables and eggs out of their gardens they might not make that extra run to the store weekly. If they don't go to shopping for groceries they might not go shopping at all. The plastic patio furniture, yard gnomes, sandwich machines and consumer electronics would pile up in the stores.
The economy would crash. Well, crash more.
Put the Carbon Back
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Ted Clayton Posted 12:04 am
25 Feb 2009
[Sorry, I don't have the citation at hand. If there is real interest, I will root it out. Maybe someone else is already familiar?]
The government can indeed tell you, No Radishes!, and then lock you up for growing your own salad-appetizers, on your own land, for your own use. They have the explicit legal power to force you to buy from regulated markets.
Panolin's perhaps tongue-in-cheek explanation is very close to the actual rational of the government.
egbooth - It's still February, give the girl a break! ;-)
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kellyhunt Posted 2:26 am
25 Feb 2009
the "victory garden" is in sight!
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/02/24/politics/politica ...
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egbooth Posted 11:39 am
25 Feb 2009
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zpaiss Posted 12:49 am
26 Feb 2009
So let's get growing and add your garden into the One Million Gardens campaign at:
http://onemilliongardens.ning.com
Let's show that American spirit, pull up our collective bootstraps, and plant a food garden as soon as you can!
Zev Paiss
Boulder, Colorado
Food Security = Homeland Security
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texasjenny Posted 1:36 am
26 Feb 2009
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