When Michelle Obama planted an organic garden on the White House lawn—which, she told
NBC this week, has already yielded more than 80 pounds of produce—the
response was overwhelmingly positive. (The main criticism: She should cook, too.) The Obamas’ high-profile trip to New York included dinner at the impossibly local/organic/humane restaurant Blue Hill. (Main criticism: too predictable.) She even appeared on
Sesame Street to champion the benefits of healthy eating. (Main criticism: no Snuffleupagus.)
Pushing organic and local foods is hardly official White House policy. So far, Five Guys
is as much a part of the administration’s diet as arugula. But the
first lady’s public statements, combined with the selection of a White House chef who favors local and organic foods, has brought more attention to what we eat than anything since
Top Chef.
But
beneath the nodding and smiling, there has been some grumbling. Not all
sectors of the food and agriculture industry specialize in organic or
local foods. “There’s a lot of pushback we’re hearing, a lot of whining
out of that community about the first lady doing her garden,” says
Larry Mitchell of the American Corn Growers Association, which
represents both organic and conventional farmers. “They’re getting
awful squeamish on this thing.”
The first complaint came from the
Mid America CropLife Association, a group that represents agriculture
and pesticide companies, in a letter
to Obama in March. “Fresh foods grown conventionally are wholesome and
flavorful yet more economical,” the group said. “Local and conventional
farming is not mutually exclusive.” The letter also included a history
lesson: “If Americans were still required to farm to support their
family’s basic food and fiber needs, would the U.S. have been leaders
in the advancement of science, communication, education, medicine,
transportation and the arts?” The White House did not respond.
Other
groups argue that organic and local foods are well and good—as long as
the White House doesn’t pretend that Americans can subsist on backyard
heirloom tomatoes alone. “We have no problem with this concept,” said Bob Young, an economist for the American Farm Bureau Federation, on
The
Diane Rehm Show
in March. “But understand that you’re making lifestyle choices here
about how you want your food produced. Fine. But don’t denigrate the
other approaches to food production.”
Mary Kay Thatcher, also of
the Farm Bureau, argued that the White House should present a complete
picture of farming: “If Michelle Obama was having dinner with me, I’d
say the organic garden is a great thing, but use it for education about
organic vs. conventional agriculture, the pros and the cons.” For
examrle, said Young, organic farming requires tilling the soil, which
uses up gas, as opposed to conventional farming, which kills weeds with
chemicals.
Then there’s the difference between organic food and
local food. Michelle Obama is a fan of both. “When you grow something
yourself and it’s close and it’s local, oftentimes it tastes really
good,” she wrote on the White House blog in March. But locavorism has
its dissenters, too.
“It’s a charming idea and everything, but
it’s not practical,” says Xavier Equihua, who represents the Chilean
Exporters Association as well as the Chilean Avocado Committee. The
main problem, he says, is that local food is seasonal. For example,
avocadoes grow in California during the summer months. Same with
grapes. “What happens if you want some grapes during the month of
December?” says Equihua. “What are you going to do? Not eat grapes?”
Furthermore,
buying local isn’t always the most environmentally sound option. Pound
for pound, trucking uses a lot more energy than shipping. Thus Equihua
is able to argue that “it takes less energy per avocado to ship
something from Chile to New York than from California to New York.”
On
the whole, however, most food giants are taking a wait-and-see approach
to the White House garden. Statements from companies like Monsanto and
groups like the Grocery Manufacturers Association reveal a pattern:
praise the White House for raising awareness about agriculture, and
ignore the rest. “Congratulations on recognizing the importance of
agriculture in America!” said the directors of the Mid America CropLife
Association in their letter to Michelle. Monsanto had a similar
message: “We’re very encouraged by the conversations taking place
around the importance of agriculture,” said a spokesman. And there was
this from the GMA: “One of the great things about today’s diverse
marketplace is that consumers have more options than ever before,
including more packaged, fresh and organic selections that help meet
their ever-changing lifestyles.”
If food producers don’t sound
too worried, it’s because they’re not. For all the talk about organic
and local farming, the administration’s agricultural policy remains
conventional. Pro-organic groups raised hell when Obama picked Tom
Vilsack, former governor of all-agribusiness-all-the-time Iowa, as
secretary of agriculture. (The appointment of his deputy, Kathleen Merrigan, provoked equal and opposite celebration.)
Vilsack has sung the benefits of “local food systems” but with little shift in policy. Yes, the administration has allocated $50 million
to help encourage organic farming. But “it’s still nickels and dimes
compared to what corporate agriculture gets,” says Ronnie Cummins of
the Organic Consumers Association.
Big Food can also relax for
economic reasons: Organic and local food costs more than processed
food. Even if the organic sector grows beyond its current 4 percent
market share, it’s unlikely to overtake the giants anytime
soon—especially in a recession. “McDonald’s isn’t going belly up
anytime soon,” says Don Lipton of the Farm Bureau.
Then
again, if the administration had an organic farming policy, instead of
just an organic farm, companies could get nervous. “If they started
changing policy, then we’d have another look,” said Ray Gilmer of the
United Fresh Produce Association. Farmers don’t mind dedicating small
pieces of their land to organic food—when there’s a market for it.
And
that’s the real subversive appeal of the Obamas’ organic garden. If it
succeeds in shifting public perceptions about organic food, then the
market for it may grow. And as with all market shifts, the most
successful companies will embrace the organic movement rather than
resist it. “For too long, the ag guys have said,
If we raise it you’re gonna eat it. You don’t have options,” says Mitchell. “Well, now we have options.”
Christopher Beam
is a
Slate political reporter. Follow him on
.