White House vegetable garden

History of White House gardens

The first White House garden was planted in 1800, by the second president of the United States John Adams and first lady Abigail Adams.{{cite news| last = Parker-Pope | first = Tara | title = Growing Food on the White House Lawn |work=The New York Times | date = January 23, 2009

World War I and II victory gardens

The onset of World War I brought the start of food rationing to the White House. In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson and First Lady Edith Wilson brought sheep to graze and fertilize the lawns. This was a way to save manpower, fuel, and money required to take care of the lawns, because all resources were needed to fight overseas. During World War II, in 1943, President Franklin Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt planted a victory garden on the White House grounds. The victory garden movement started because of food shortages caused by the war. Millions of victory gardens were planted across America during that period of time, producing about 40 percent of America's vegetables.

Resistance to vegetable gardens

In the 1970s and 1990s, peacetime vegetable gardens were proposed but did not materialize. Jimmy Carter, who was a Georgia farmer and a gardener, talked about how gardening was an important aspect of America's future in his campaign, but declined calls in 1978 to plant a vegetable garden at the White House. Another unsuccessful attempt was made by President Bill Clinton, who was denied by the White House, saying it was not in keeping with the formal nature of the White House grounds. The Clintons later resorted to planting a small vegetable garden on the roof of the building, where produce was grown and used for cooking.

Michelle Obama's vegetable garden

The Obamas planted an L-shaped 1100 sqft vegetable garden on the South Lawn of the White House on March 20, 2009, by the mansion's tennis courts visible from E Street. The vegetables grown included arugula (rocket), cilantro (coriander), tomatillo, hot peppers, spinach, chard, collards, black kale, berries and lettuce, 25 heirloom seeds and 10 herbs such as anise hyssop and Thai basil, and former presidents' favorite produce plants, such as Thomas Jefferson's preferred "Brown Dutch and Tennis Ball lettuce, Prickly Seed spinach and Savoy cabbage". Beets were not grown because President Obama did not like them. The contributing gardeners responsible for the early stages of the garden included the first lady herself, White House horticulturist Dale Haney, Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, a team of chefs, and fifth graders from Bancroft Elementary School in Washington.

In May 2012, the first lady published American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America, a book detailing her experiences with the Kitchen Garden and promoting healthy eating. Mrs. Obama, who had no prior experience in gardening, was motivated to start a garden to get more fruits and vegetables for the diets of her daughters Malia and Sasha, which would sometimes consist of dining out three times a week with occasional sandwiches for dinner, as well as to encourage Americans to increase healthy food choices, and educate children about the benefits of locally grown produce.

Response

The garden met with support from foodies and environmentalists. Michael Pollan, advocate of sustainable agriculture, said the garden was not only practical and efficient, "but just as important, it teaches important habits of mind – helping people to reconnect with their food, eat more healthily on a budget and recognize that we're less dependent on the industrial food chain, and cheap fossil fuel, than we assume." The fertilizers used in the plot were made with "White House compost, crab meal from the Chesapeake Bay, lime and green sand. Ladybugs and praying mantises will help control harmful bugs." Roughly two hundred dollars spent on the cost of seeds would provide a continuous supply of fresh produce.

The vegetable patch became symbolic for change within current government policies, such as Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack lobbying Congress to reviewthe Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act in order to change current school lunches, and asking the USDA for more funds to make fruits and vegetables accessible to children. The White House's executive chef Walter Scheib was enthusiastic about the fresh ingredients and stated, "There has always been a small garden at the White House, but this commitment by Mrs. Obama to a local and freshly grown product is a progressive move forward that will raise the profile and awareness of local and sustainable food both at the White House and nationally to an unprecedented level."

In contrast, when the Obamas announced the garden would not use pesticides, MACA, the Mid-America Croplife Association, an agricultural chemical trade group, urged the Obamas to consider the need for traditional agriculture, for effective pest management in their garden to increase crop yield so they could feed more people. This idea was further satirized on The Daily Show by Jon Stewart, on which Jeff Stier of the pro-industry American Council of Science and Health stated that it was irresponsible to eat organic, locally grown food because not everyone could afford it.

Continuation under Melania Trump and Jill Biden

After Donald Trump was elected in 2016, Barack Obama publicly worried about Michelle's garden being dug up, and conservative pundit Ann Coulter suggested it become a putting green. However, First Lady Melania Trump continued to maintain the garden, personally working on it with members of the Boys and Girls Club in 2017, and using vegetables from it for her first state dinner in 2018.

The garden lived on into the Biden administration in 2021, when First Lady Jill Biden sent vegetables from it to Michelle Obama.

References

References

1. (October 6, 2015). "Burpee Funds White House Kitchen Garden". PR Newswire.
2. Higgins, Adrian. (April 5, 2009). "Jefferson the Gardener Set His Sights High to Reap the Earth's Bounty". The Washington Post.
3. Black, Jane. (March 20, 2009). "Shovel-Ready Project: A White House Garden". The Washington Post.
4. Woolley, John T.. "Franklin D. Roosevelt: Statement Encouraging Victory Gardens". [[University of California, Santa Barbara]].
5. Lee, Jesse. (April 9, 2009). "Planting the Garden". [[whitehouse.gov]].
6. (April 9, 2009). "Elementary Students Lend Green Thumbs to First Lady". NBC Washington.
7. Marian Burros. (March 19, 2009). "Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House". New York Times.
8. Black, Jane. (April 9, 2009). "The First Garden Gets Its First Planting". [[The Washington Post]].
9. Flottum, Kim. (March 23, 2009). "An Addition To Michelle Obama's White House Garden: Honey Bees". [[Hearst Communications, Inc.]].
10. Crugnale, James. [http://www.mediaite.com/online/obama-homebrews-white-house-honey-ale-for-medal-of-honor-recepient/ Obama Homebrews White House Honey Ale For Medal Of Honor Recipient]. ''[[Mediaite]]''. September 16, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2011.
11. Burros, Marian. (March 19, 2009). "Obamas to Plant Vegetable Garden at White House". The New York Times.
12. Benac, Nancy. (June 1, 2012). "Michelle Obama's Book On Growing Seeds and Healthy Kids". The Ledger.
13. Barrett, Kate. (March 20, 2009). "Foodies Celebrate White House Veggie Garden". [[ABC News (United States).
14. Naughton, Philippe. (April 22, 2009). "Big Agriculture takes umbrage at Mrs Obamas organic garden". The Times.
15. [http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-may-14-2009/little-crop-of-horrors Jeff Stier interview on The Daily Show], May 14, 2009
16. (November 11, 2016). "What Will Become of Michelle Obama’s Garden in a Trump Administration?". [[New York (magazine).
17. (September 22, 2017). "At Melania Trump garden event, echoes of Michelle Obama". [[CNN]].
18. (April 23, 2018). "Melania Trump Uses Greens From Michelle Obama's Garden at First State Dinner". [[Time (magazine).
19. (3 February 2021). "From Michelle to Melania to Jill: At Least the White House Garden Experienced a Peaceful Transfer of Power". Vanity Fair.