A 'First Garden'
by Beverley Kreul, posted March 18, 2009
President Barack Obama has many ambitions for his first 100 days in office. One thing that may not have been on the top of his list, however, is to plant a garden in his front yard. The Kitchen Gardeners International, a non-profit network based in Maine, has enacted a campaign known as “Eat the View.”
This program urges the Obama family to reestablish a large victory garden in the lawn of the White House. Their goal is to have the garden produce enough that it can stock up the White House kitchen and food pantries.
“If planted, it would be a victory garden in the truest sense: a demonstration to the world that the American presidency is dedicated to the good stewardship of the land,” said Alice Waters, the founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, on eattheview.org. “Supporting seasonal, ripe, delicious, American food would not only nourish the First Family, it would support our farmers and energize the nation.”
President Obama would not be the first man to do such a thing on the White House grounds. This point is a major position for many Eat the View supporters. In 1792, the White House was constructed on what had previously been a tobacco plantation. President John Quincy Adams planted fruit trees, herbs, and vegetables to help support his family during his time as President of the U.S. Soon after, President Andrew Jackson built an “orangery” to grow tropical fruit. The greenhouse was demolished, however, in 1902 and replaced with the West Wing. President Wilson and First Lady Edith Wilson had a flock of sheep to mow and fertilize the First Lawn.
To turn the trends, President George H. Bush proclaimed that the White House would be a “no broccoli zone” in 1990.
Some argue, however, that if the Obama’s plant their own garden then they will not be purchasing their food from the American people.
“There is a certain pride about selling your produce to the White House,” said Bill Grantham, a local Missouri diversified fruit and vegetable producer. “It’s not something everyone gets to do.”
In a time of economic crisis, some producers, such as Grantham, feel that the First Family should support the local American producers by purchasing their goods from the grassroots of America.
Eat the View believes the White House is “America’s House” and should serve as a model at a time of economic and environmental crisis. They state that in planning this garden, the Obamas would not be breaking with tradition, but returning to it and leading by personal example on global challenges such as economic security, food security, climate change, healthcare policy, and energy independence.
“With healthy home-grown fruits and vegetable instead of fast food and junk food, we can have better health and better productivity, and can dramatically reduce the burden of illness that currently weighs on society,” said Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. “What better place to start than at the seat of our government?”
