Industry is critical of Michelle Obama's organic garden

[BlueJessamine]

Source: Politico

Michelle Obama entertained some fifth-grade students from Washington’s Bancroft Elementary School at a late lunch Tuesday in the first lady’s garden. It was a harvest celebration, with ingredients from the kitchen garden the children helped get started in March, coming back in April to plant the seeds.

Kids, gardens, seeds and organic vegetables would normally make for a pretty safe and innocuous White House event, even given today’s hothouse atmosphere in the nation’s capital. But the symbolic importance of an organic garden on the South Lawn, visible from the iron fence on E Street, has blossomed in ways no one could have expected. It has not only spurred many to have their own home garden — it has also clearly put a scare into conventional agriculture, which has fought back.

Obama’s stated purpose — to highlight the importance of a healthful diet for children and how much easier it is to get children to eat from their least favorite food group, vegetables, when produce is just out of the ground — was quickly transposed upon a much larger playing field.

No sooner had the garden been announced than a letter addressed to Mrs. Barack Obama arrived at the East Wing from an organization that represents companies selling chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The Mid America CropLife Association, an agribusiness media group, urged the first lady to give conventional agriculture equal time. Referring to chemicals the group euphemistically called “crop protection products,” the letter said not only are such nonorganic techniques necessary, but their safety is also “supported by sound scientific research and innovation.”





Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/23838.html

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snip:

Jeffrey Stier, a spokesman for the American Council on Science and Health, a group that accepts corporate funding from Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s and PepsiCo and generally sides with industries’ positions on health and environmental hazards, to be interviewed about the White House garden:

“I think the Obama garden should come with a warning label,” he continued. “It’s irresponsible to tell people that you should have to eat organic and locally grown food. Not everyone can afford that. That’s a serious public health concern.”

His reasoning: “People are going to eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Cancer rates will go up. Obesity rates will go up. I think if we decide to eat only locally grown food, we’re going to have a lot of starvation.”

[marmar]

1. Good Grief......C'est la vie in the corporatist state.

n/t

[otohara]

158. Check Out Their Site Link Called : Activists/Hype

They say this about EVERYTHING that includes a reduction in Human Beings consuming chemicals.

http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/categoryID.2/category_detail.asp

[MissHoneychurch]

2. What bullshit reasons

homegrown veggies taste like veggies, not like water. How can it not be healthy to eat freshly harvested food??? Someone is really scared .... to lose money. Shows again those corps are only out for money and not caring about the health of the people.

[Cha]

60. And, the crops look so beautiful..they

really some good care. I've been eating organic since the '70's and I know they taste better and are healthier.

[LaurenG]

3. Ha! People might be able to feed themselves, without pesticides!

What a moronic, clearly industry aggrandizing load of manure.

[Gormy Cuss]

100. No manure in that load.

That's one of the problems. ;)

[tanyev]

4. OMG! Cancer and obesity rates are going to go up because Michelle has a garden!

The horror!

[Mrs. Overall]

47. Here's a pic to illustrate this terrible danger to society and civilization:

[FailureToCommunicate]

54. Holy Miracle Grow Batman! We never got big yields that fast! Are we sure the WH

gardener didn't ...um... 'augment' the First Garden?

Though I guess with round the clock Security keeping the critters away, it DOES give the little sprouts a chance to grow...

(Thanks for posting the photo Mrs Overall)

[Cha]

63. I know of lots of organic gardens over the decades

that are just as bountiful:)

[Mrs. Overall]

87. You're welcome. I snatched it from one of Jackeens cool pic threads:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x8475403

[Cha]

62. Thanks! I saw all those pics, yesterday, and

they're fresh in my mind while reading this egregious letter from the poison your crops people.

[SCantiGOP]

70. you're right about the threat this creates

I think I can see Osama hiding under one of the patches of squash. Quick, spray him with DDT.

[Mrs. Overall]

84. Ha! That would make a great photoshop--

a little Osama face peeking out from under the leaves.

[madeline_con]

75. Michelle is the coolest First Lady. A real class act.

But no matter what the Obamas do, there's always someone who has a problem with it. Like she's going to be the spokewoman for chemical corporations. :eyes:

[imdjh]

97. I thought she was taller.

[jmowreader]

110. I can see a bigger danger.

Is it just me, or is that black girl with the dreads at the right side of the frame really overendowed for her age? I know they're using all these hormones and shit in meat and dairy production, and estrogen's estrogen.

I've heard being seriously overweight can cause early breast formation, but she's not overly heavy. She just has breasts bigger than my wife's. And girls didn't get that big when I was in fifth grade.

So...maybe the chemical farmers have some explaining to do...

[Hutzpa]

111. Heres an Idea

that would be a perfect Christmas Card gift from the First Lady to this group.

That will difinately drive them ape shit.

[lob1]

161. There's your proof. Eat organic food and turn yellow.

[sasquuatch55]

169. What a beautiful picture!

nt

[shellgame26]

179. Look at all those commies

they're even wearing uniforms!

[closeupready]

186. This is frightening.

:rofl:

[AlbertCat]

134. OMG! Cancer and obesity rates are going to go up because Michelle has a garden!

Not only that! But starvation too! (as obesity rates go up)

I wonder how many people in the US are starving right now. Any statistics, Big Agra?

[bluestateguy]

5. Crybaby interest groups

Madison warned us about this in 1787.

[ejpoeta]

6. huh?? a warning label?? wtf!!! on tuesdays and fridays we have a farmer's market

locally. i haven't checked yet to see if they are doing that yet. We have also started our own garden here. We have been wanting to, but I don't have much of a green thumb. We did get some tomatoes last year. So we scaled it up and planted all kinds of stuff and we'll see how we do. Depending on our success level this year, I want to go big next year. I think it's great to grow our own, and let the kids see how to grow a garden and learn about where food comes from. But if we do that, then maybe these companies that are fearing the local gardening plot might lose some money when we aren't buying their stuff from the store. People are already eating fewer fruits and vegetables because they cost so much at the store. I should know. I do the shopping and produce and meat are the most expensive part of my shopping. So I do what I can with the produce, but we tend to try to make sure it is there for the kids. At least that is my husband's claim as he avoids eating anything that can be called a vegetable.

[zipplewrath]

10. It was cheaper

The local market around the corner had cheaper, and fresher, vegetables than the local food chain. Yes, it's seasonal, but that's sorta the point.

[ejpoeta]

14. and if you have the space for a garden... and don't have a black thumb

(like i seem to)... though I am still trying. Better this year than last year. And I will gladly go to the farmer's market. I get WIC and the checks for the farmer's market are really great!! they would let my daughter try something to see if she liked it. that's how she likes blueberries. she LOVES most vegetables except peas. oh well. It wasn't always that way. I remember hiding vegetables in her mac and cheese, and there would be a pile of veggies left in her bowl. when I started getting her involved in making dinner, she started trying things, and finding she liked them. she loves spinach... just not cooked. she will put spinach leaves on her sandwich. still working on getting them to eat tomatoes. oh well. they LOVE broccoli. brocoloni and cheese. lol.

[zipplewrath]

19. Gonna wax nostalgic

Grew up in an urban environment, but in a house that used to be the "farm house" in the neighborhood. We had "left over" trees from the farm days (and a garage that was a chicken coop at one time). Apples, pears, cherries, plums, and some stuff like grapes and raspberries as well. I didn't know how good I had it until I left home and tried to buy such food. It didn't exist. It's no wonder kids don't like fruits and vegetables, I wouldn't either if I only knew this crap. Corn on the cob, fresh off the stalk? Oh boy! The way you know a pear is ripe? You jiggle it and see if it falls into the palm of your hand. Just shake the branch of the berries, the ones that are ready will fall off into your bucket. I grew up learning all the plants that grew wild that were edible. (Got to meet Ewell Gibbons actually, still got the signed book). I could spend a day in the great outdoors and never get hungry (well, in the summer, wouldn't wanna try that trick in the winter).

We get disconnected from our food. It's not that we should all live a subsistence life or something, but we should at least know the basics of how. How food is grown, how it is harvested and prepared and stored.... It's probably true of much of our world.

[madeline_con]

80. "Did you ever eat a pine tree? Many parts are edible." Ewell Gibbons

Remeber that commercial? Was it for some kind of fiber cereal? That was such a joke back in the 70's.
Talk about waxing nostalgic. :eyes:

[zipplewrath]

88. Look at his book

On the cover, there is a picture of him chewing a leaf cluster. Look closely, it's from poison ivy. He had "trained" himself to be insensitive to the oils.

[jmowreader]

113. Yeah, it was for Grape-Nuts

[JerseygirlCT]

51. I'm with your daughter. Spinach is better not cooked

(Unless you're putting it in something like a quiche, I guess). And broccoli is my favorite.

Other than broccoli and lots of salad, I'm not much of a vegetable eater, myself. (Wish I were). And unless you're talking sauce (and not that chunky stuff, either), I'm not a tomato fan, either. I think it's the texture.

[PSzymeczek]

119. I love fresh tomatoes.

But with my GERD, I can't eat acidic food without paying the price, which is getting up in the middle of the night to yerk.

[JerseygirlCT]

121. Yeah, that's not worth it! Sorry to hear that! nt

[AlbertCat]

137. Spinach is better not cooked

No! Try some Saag at your local Indian Restaurant. Mmmmmmmmmm! The sauce is made from cooked purred spinach or a mix of greens, tomatoes, onions and yogurt with lots of Indian spices. Soooo good. (Lamb is usually cooked for a long time in this sauce... but you can make it with chicken, or veggies or tofu.... the sauce is the thing)

And to get us to eat spinach as kids, my mother would take the (frozen or canned) spinach and squeeze all the liquid out of it, put it in a casserole dish and cover it with graded sharp cheddar and crumbled bacon then bake it in a medium oven until the cheese had melted through. Yum! Of course, use your favorite cheese and turkey bacon if you want.

Spinach rulz!

[JerseygirlCT]

140. I don't like that plate of mushy green stuff

And while I'm glad you enjoy the dish you mentioned, you lost me first at onions (can't eat them; make me very sick) and then lamb (ugh).

I think I'd rather have the fresh greens, and throw cheese and maybe turkey bacon on top - and hard boiled eggs! - then to have it all cooked up.

My sister would like your ideas (also sans onions). But she always liked stuff like that - very different tastes between us!

[Cha]

65. Oh, it's definetly about the big bucks they're

very afraid of losing while they're ruining the soil.:scared:

They won't be selling as much pesticides will they?..if people have their own organic gardens or buy organic?

I wish you huge successs in your garden!:bounce:

[daggahead]

7. Just wondering when ...

... the agricorps will start lobbying Washington to make it illegal to grow your own food.

[sasquuatch55]

11. They have already tried a few years ago in somewhere in the northwest.

Wanted a paid for permit to grow a garden. Not sure where that went.

[PuraVidaDreamin]

48. H.R. 875: Food Safety Modernization Act of 2009. BE AWARE!

defines a food production facility as, "any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture faciltiy or confined animal- feeding operation," giving the FDA and other
government agencies broad control over small-scale producers, AND those who raise food for their personal consumption. Other language in the bill is deeply ambiguos: Those who
dehyddrate, can, or freeze food in their homes for personal consumption could be required to obtain a license to operate a food production facility (i.e. Your own kitchen) should
this bill pass.

And better not try and save any seeds from your harvest to plant next year from any company like Montsanto...etc..

They could sneak into your small garden, swipe a corn sample to test its DNA. If your corn has Montsanto DNA in it
you will be sued.

[tridim]

61. Run that through snopes.

Most of it is not true.

[Cha]

66. Thanks for that, tridim..I was freaking

out about that and then I read this tread that had the snopes info on it..and other posts that seemed to debunk it.

[madeline_con]

82. Like the feds will spot us pickling peppers with their raygun.

Screw them! :tinfoilhat:

[jmowreader]

112. Monsanto will do that, HR 875 or no

Google Percy Schmeiser.

[PSzymeczek]

120. My parents

would have been SO busted. We always had a huge backyard garden when I was a kid, and my mother used to can or freeze everything. Her tomato juice was legendary.

[AlbertCat]

138. And they are gonna enforce these laws.....how?

I think the "War on Organic Produce" will be as successful as the "War on drugs".

[texastoast]

147. Do you have a link to the Monsanto varieties?

I want to be sure I don't buy any of their seed.

[CreekDog]

155. Stop lying to people in order to scare them

The law applies to:

(13) FOOD ESTABLISHMENT-

(A) IN GENERAL- The term ‘food establishment’ means a slaughterhouse (except those regulated under the Federal Meat Inspection Act or the Poultry Products Inspection Act), factory, warehouse, or facility owned or operated by a person located in any State that processes food or a facility that holds, stores, or transports food or food ingredients.

(B) EXCLUSIONS- For the purposes of registration, the term ‘food establishment’ does not include a food production facility as defined in paragraph (14), restaurant, other retail food establishment, nonprofit food establishment in which food is prepared for or served directly to the consumer, or fishing vessel (other than a fishing vessel engaged in processing, as that term is defined in section 123.3 of title 21, Code of Federal Regulations).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

3
(14) FOOD PRODUCTION FACILITY- The term ‘food production facility’ means any farm, ranch, orchard, vineyard, aquaculture facility, or confined animal-feeding operation

http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h875/text

[zogofzorkon]

64. Most of the seed sources for many varieties are already illegal

50 Years ago you could order seeds from English & Canadian firms; green top turnips, purple peas, long beets, a dozen kinds of spring cabbage among others. Now international seed orders are impossible and there are very few American companies bringing in these seeds and if they do its only a fraction of what's available.

[Retrograde]

108. you still can

Richter's in Canada will ship to the US, and there are small companies specializing in seeds from other places - I've used this source for Italian veggies. You gotta dig a bit, but they're there.

[zogofzorkon]

142. Growitalian.com is the best

and his seed makes up over half my garden. There are also some excellent suppliers of Asian seeds on the west coast. Almost all, if not all the major seed firms of England & Europe will no longer ship to the US because of import regulations. The suppliers that repack seeds are often not of the highest quality and almost always overpriced. T&M has cut their vegetable offerings almost nothing in the US catalog/website. There are of course great US seed companies still supplying the more ordinary varieties.

[shadowknows69]

8. They can go fuck themselves with an organic cucumber.

[debbierlus]

77. Up the rear orifice!

[Mind_your_head]

174. You said it BEST shadowknow69!

:applause: and thanks for the chuckle!

[Rebubula]

9. Jebus Christ...

Somethings just defy imagination.

I love my little garden...

[karynnj]

12. What an idiotic interpretation of the concept of eating locally grown food

There is a huge difference from eating local produce when it is available and allowing yourself to starve rather than eating food from the grocery store that came from far away.

There is nothing wrong with encouraging vegetable gardens. In fact, Michelle's garden motivated Queen Elizabeth II to start one - supposedly for the first time since World War II, when the palace had a victory garden. http://en.greenplanet.net/food/organic/632-an-organic-garden-for-queen-elizabeth-too.html

[ejpoeta]

15. weren't victory gardens the big thing during the depression or the war or something.

it was considered patriotic, i think. i think growing your own garden would be very patriotic right now...

[Lancer]

18. Victory gardens were a national and patriotic pastime in WWII

Many people planted them in a "V" shape. My father was in his early teens when the war started, and he and his Dad planted one for themselves and planted and cultivated gardens for their elderly neighbors. It was a community event when the crops came in and everyone divvied them up. Dad's family could plant two gardens every year because in North Carolina the growing season is long. He says it was fun to see "corn as high as a elephant's eye" growing in the shadow of the 8- and 12-story buildings downtown.

[karynnj]

20. They were a big thing during WWII, though I would bet that non-rich people

who had land during the depression planted gardens.

When I was writing the earlier post - I was thinking that it is actually strange that in most of suburbia, people spend a huge amount of time and effort maintaining lawns, shrubs and gardens - but not veggie gardens. This is the norm where I live now. However, I remember from the 1050s and 1960s that my parents and the parents of many friends growing at least tomatoes. I remember that it was not uncommon, on a hot summer day to just pick a tomato and eat it whole, still warm from the sun, with a little sprinkling of salt rather than eating cookies or chips. I moved both from Indiana to NJ and to an upper middle class from a middle class neighborhood - so it could be either of these factors or time. (My daughter and a friend have build and maintained an organic garden during the summers when home from college for the last 4 years - far more ambitious than the small rows of plants I remember from childhood.)

[ejpoeta]

23. it is odd, now that you mention i t. folks spend so much time manicuring their lawns

they could have a nice garden. though it's probably against the rules of those associations or something. We had a nice garden and I remember picking beans and peas and everything else. we'd eat the beans right out of the garden. we went and picked for our neighbors too who were older. It was the best eating vegetables straight from the garden. so fresh and great tasting. the stuff in the store doesn't taste like i remember. And we had wild strawberries and grapes... and i think we had a pear tree. I got away from that after I left home, and now I am trying to get some of that back. it's hard work, which may be why people don't do it. you almost forget that you CAN grow stuff or make stuff yourself. you get so used to just going to the store to get it.

[NJCher]

42. industrial lawn

The suburbs of northern NJ are the worst. There are impeccably kept lawns and landscapes at the highest environmental price: leafblowers, lawnmowers, trimmers going constantly. One cannot just have an open window because of the noise and pollution put out by these machines. It goes on constantly. Consequently most people just keep their windows shut all season long and use AC, even in the nice weather, like now. All this adds to the pollution problem.

Even worse, huge trucks hauling landscape equipment drive from house to house, doing people's lawns. Why use fossil fuels to drag equipment around? The amounts of gas these machines use is horrendous. A student of mine who worked at a gas station told me that when these guys drive up in their trucks, the total bill is easily 200. And this was before gas prices rose so drastically last summer.

This business model could easily be changed if people used less lawn and grew vegetable gardens, preferably organic. If they did it organically, they wouldn't want fertilizers nor would they want chemicals. They would want to use any grass clippings they had for compost and they wouldn't want them tainted with the products from the petroleum industry.

Yes indeed, going down that organic vegetable patch road could be a dangerous one for these industries.


Cher

[Cha]

74. Please read post #71,

ejpoeta.:)

[supernova]

46. Victory Gardens were a way to flesh out the meagre rationed staples

you got. Severe limits on eggs, flour, sugar, beans, meat. All of it went to the war effort. So, victory gardens were absolutely necessary.

[Flora]

177. I have thought it strange

that through the recent years of war, that Americans were not asked to give as they did during WWII. Perhaps, because so many resources were given to the "war effort and therefore we had to grown our own veggies and commodities rationed, many wouldn't be so eager to allow our children to be sent to war.

[xxqqqzme]

53. mmmmmm, tomatoes, still warm from the sun.

I still remember the first time I ate one. I thought I'm eating sunshine! There are very few things in this life that taste better than that!

On a side note, my first artichoke presented its little head yesterday. I was thrilled. Waiting for my potatoes and green beans to break ground. Once the southern California beach 'June gloom' goes away, I'll put my cantaloupe & Persian cucumbers in the ground (they are doing beautifully in their starter pots). We have terrible powdery mildew on squashes, melons & cukes here at the beach.

[Cha]

78. Still sounds like

paradise!

[karynnj]

98. I'm officially jealous - your garden sounds luscious

[Cha]

71. Good for you and your daughter, karyn..

I've seen articles in People mag that were inspired by the White House organic garden ..where people in Ohio, Seattle, and one other place(can't remember) plowed up their front yards and made lucious gardens. They showed before and after pictures! I brought it to work to show my friends.

[Cha]

67. That's a great point, ejpoeta!

We're just being patriotic, creative, and economical..and anyone who doesn't like it can go suck on an organic lemon.:) Which actually tastes pretty good:9

[blueworld]

83. I've been researching Victory Gdns for a series of articles

Yes, they encouraged folks to supplement rationing & thus leave more food available for the troops...I have some old books & government pamphlets I picked up antiquing and it was an amazing, patriotic idea.

And the LARGEST patriotic thing about it right now is that all chemical pesticides & fertilizers are petroleum-based. So we're feeding Middle Eastern oil cartels and their US cohorts while keeping American soldiers fighting & dying with every Miracle-Gro we sprinkle.

I've been an organic gardener for decades - it's definitely tastier and healthier for us & the planet. And cheaper, since I can save many of my own seeds if I'm inclined to do that. Something Monsanto doesn't allow farmers to do.

Screw agri-business. Buy local & organic & grow what you can.
:patriot:

[ejpoeta]

148. that's one thing i am interested in. saving seeds for next year. don't know how to do that.

i bet my local cooperative extension could help me figure that out. i just feel so dumb when it comes to this kind of stuff. and yes, the most patriotic thing we can do is to render petroleum, and thus the oil cartels, powerless. and the only way to do that is to find alternatives to oil and to limit our use of products using oil.

[xxqqqzme]

180. Saving seed is very gratifying.

So far this year, I have snow pea seed pods just about ready to open and have the dried peas tumble out. My broccoli bolted early, the birds & bees enjoyed the flowers so much I left them in the garden. I cut one plant back (so it will flower again for the birds), one plant I let go all the way to seed. I opened one of the broccoli pods yesterday and the seeds are still green. I left one spinach plant go to seed, pulled the others. I saved seed from a pear shaped yellow tomato from last year. Cut the tomato open, scoop out the seeds, soak them for a couple of hours so the pulp will separate from the seeds easier, spread the seed out on absorbent paper, let them dry. Scoop them up, put them in a container of your choice, label & date. You're ready for next spring.

One thing I encourage beginner gardeners to do is keep a planting/growing/harvest journal. If you think your are going to pursue this hobby, you will benefit from year to year by reading your observations and notes. This year my journal is being enhanced w/ pictures.

OK, I just rambled on and on. Someone stop me.

[ejpoeta]

181. thanks for the info. i am very interested and a journal sounds like a great idea.

[Raksha]

182. I agree that seed saving is very gratifying - I've been doing it for years.

My lettuce (growing in pots) is bolting, so I'm letting one Romaine plant go to seed to have fresh seed for planting in the fall. Right now we're in the "June gloom" phase here in the Inland Empire (SoCal) but pretty soon it's going to be too blistering hot to even think about planting lettuce. I'll do it again towards the end of October when it starts cooling off. Meanwhile there are tomatoes and peppers and zucchini to look forward to, and chard and beets and turnips which we can grow pretty much year-round in this climate.

I collect and save seeds from all kinds of things, though--ornamentals as well as edibles. Sometimes it can be a challenge figuring out how to germinate them, but it's one that I've enjoyed for years. With a little help from the GardenWeb seed saving forum, I succeed more often than not.

[ImOnlySleeping]

102. Ever Garden a Munitions Plant

[Recursion]

165. New York City during WWII produced 2/3rds of its produce in victory gardens

Urban/suburban gardening works.

[mbperrin]

13. Fuck the Mid America CropLife Association!

Not very eloquent, but heartfelt....

[dipsydoodle]

16. Yes , but did they say the same about

Laura's bush ?

[PSzymeczek]

123. Ewww! n/t

[get the red out]

17. They take a big leap

It makes them look idiotic. Almost like the warning lable on frozen pizza that says "Warning, contents hot when cooked".

Growing a garden means everyone will suddenly forget the grocery store exists and simply starve and die in the winter. I am glad they sound so stupid.

[Cha]

81. It's all those pesticides talking..

not a very encouraging.

[pleah]

21. What a load of manure! Oh, wait that is organic, too.

:eyes:

[bdamomma]

22. what a sick a$$ comment this is.

hmm....afraid of losing some money for the corporations he represents, what a jerk.

Jeffrey Stier, a spokesman for the American Council on Science and Health, a group that accepts corporate funding from Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s and PepsiCo and generally sides with industries’ positions on health and environmental hazards, to be interviewed about the White House garden:

“I think the Obama garden should come with a warning label,” he continued. “It’s irresponsible to tell people that you should have to eat organic and locally grown food. Not everyone can afford that. That’s a serious public health concern.”

His reasoning: “People are going to eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Cancer rates will go up. Obesity rates will go up. I think if we decide to eat only locally grown food, we’re going to have a lot of starvation.”

[groovedaddy]

41. Jeffrey Stier is a corporate hack promoting lunacy. Giant Agri-business is attemtping to monopolize

markets, so, hell yeah, they think buying local sucks. We already have epidemic obesity rates and it's not from eating locally grown produce!
Tell them to take their gmos, their bovine growth hormones, their chemicals, their highfructose corn syrup and stick it where the sun don't shine!

[Dappleganger]

24. If my grandma was alive today...

she'd beat those people with a hoe and tell them to go back to the hole they crawled out of!

[Demit]

25. Yes, back when people ate locally grown food they were much obese & cancer-ridden than now.

Jeffrey Stier must have to use some of that corporate funding for ways to keep a straight face when he presents 'reasoning' like that.

[Odin2005]

26. I'm not on the "Organic Food" bandwagon but FUCK THEM!

Their reasoning is atrocious. "Obesity rates will go up"? What BS.

[Deep13]

27. One garden is not a threat to corporate agri-business.

There is, unfortunately, a grain of truth to the industry's objection. When we relied on local food products, which was a long time ago, there were about a third as many of us as there are now. I don't know that agriculture could feed us all and our customers without the pesticides, fertilizers and huge-scale mechanized production.

[Old Time Pagan]

68. With all respect, you couldn't be more wrong

Agribusiness actually has taken us to the edge of the precipice in a number of ways. I'm only going to touch on a couple right now because I've got work to do, I'm one of those goofs that grows food without using pesticides,herbicides and synthesized fertilizers or huge-scale mechanized production.

First:

By reducing diversity in seed genetics and mono-cropping huge areas agribusiness puts us as risk for enormous crop failures. Plant diseases and pests are actually fostered by have vast areas of genetically identically plants to attack and feed on. There are currently a number of plant viruses and "rusts" attacking corn and soybeans around the world. They aren't getting much press in the country but if you read agricultural publications you get a much better picture of just how close to disaster the global food supply is hovering.

Second:

My grandfather taught me that if I took care of my soil it would take care of me. Most of the action in sustainable agriculture takes place below the surface of the soil. There are unbelievably complex and amazing relationships between microbes and plant roots. The plant feeds the bacteria, fungi, algae, and other microbial species which in turn secrete enzymes, organic acids, antibiotics, growth regulators, hormones, and other substances which are absorbed by the roots and transported to the leaves. When harsh chemicals are routinely applied to our soil these relationships are destroyed and plants are vulnerable to disease and predation requiring the application of more chemicals to hold disease and predation at bay.

Third:

By destroying the soil and turning it into a dead substance "dirt" vast areas of tilled land lose the ability to hold moisture requiring more and more irrigation to be productive. In a world where fresh water is rapidly becoming so scarce that wars may well be fought over it.

Finally:

When we started growing most of our neighbors were chemical growers. Over the years some of the folks who laughed at our techniques the loudest have changed their practice to organic techniques. Why? Because they suddenly become environmentally aware? NO Because they want to tap into the organic market? NO

The reason they've switched from spraying chemicals on their land and crops is because they're sick and tired of being sick and tired.


The Internet is a great resource, do some research of your own. Rather than buying into the Agribusiness propaganda try Googling Monsanto, mono-cropping, soil microbes, seed saving... and make up your own mind

I could go own for hours, barely scratched the surface but I've got work to do. Feel free to ask me any questions this might have stimulated and I'll do the best I can to answer. Bottom line is this. If using the techniques Agribusiness has developed was a sustainable system we'd be using them. At best farming is a lot of work for not a lot of money. Doing it responsibly and still providing affordable food cuts into your bottom line. But then I compare my soil and the life on my farm to that of my chemical based neighbors and there isn't enough money in the world to get me to change.

'nuff said.

[Deep13]

69. Interesting. Thanks for your response. nt

[Cha]

85. Thank you for taking the time to

explain that to the poster. Very educational and inspirational. I've known organic gardeners since the '70's and have benefitted greatly from their harvest..next year I'm moving back to Kaui'i and plan to have my own garden..I'm so excited!

[winyanstaz]

149. I too am an organic gardner for my family.

Monsanto is a global threat and needs to be shut down.
They are not only trying to take over the whole world's food supply but they are running small farmers out of business at an alarming rate.
Lab rats DIE eating their food.

[zeemike]

151. Welcome Old Time Pagan.

So glad you posted this.
No questions from me but kudos for saying that.

[NashVegas]

185. Considering We Are At the Point Where The Planet Would Thank Us For Offing 90% of the Population ...

So what?

[Vickers]

28. Ok seriously, who else looked for an Onion link?

*raises hand*

(No pun intended, of course...)

[Mrs. Overall]

38. I certainly did. Most disgusting and deceitful spin ever--to the point of being comic.

[Cha]

86. I knew they been complaining before when

Michelle first started this organic garden so I know it's just been eating them up inside all this time and NOW..the Lucious Pictures:bounce:

[Auggie]

29. Mind-blowing greed

[avaistheone1]

30. It is actually all their chemicals and pesticides that give people cancer.

[Cha]

89. Exactly..the ones that do need to come with a

WARNING.

[VaYallaDawg]

31. What a load of manure!!

I don't think Michelle ever told anybody to eat only locally grown or only organic food. I think the whole project is about teaching kids that they can have some control over what they eat, and that home gardening is a way to help give a boost to pinched food budgets.

Some of these gripers need to get a life.

[myrna minx]

32. This has to be some of the weirdest PR spin I've read.

:crazy:

[jonestonesusa]

144. agreed...

Growing food at home = starvation risk...

It doesn't get any more Orwellian than that!

[Vidar]

33. Screw them.

[safeinOhio]

34. Sure bring down the price of fresh veggies. Just stop the subsidizing

corn and beans and use it for small veggie and fruit farmers. I think cancer rates and obesity will go down with less corn and soy products.

[Jefferson23]

35. Let this be a lesson in how far these shameless bastards will

go to keep the status quo. Will the MSM report this on the "tee vee news" and if so they will probably give credence to what the asshole Stier has said!

[Cha]

92. Excellent POint..just think of this

egregious letter from the Pesticide boys.

[derby378]

36. Jeffrey Stier needs to call the WAAAAAAHmbulance

This is the most ridiculous fucking thing I have heard all month. And bear in mind that we've all had to sit through the Letterman/Palin kerfuffle.

[Canuckistanian]

37. Fuck the chemical industry

Her garden is doing fine - why does she need harmful chemicals?

And local organic gardens are a serious health concern? What fucking planet is this guy from?

[BlancheSplanchnik]

39. Haa!! Keep it up, corporate whore hypemeisters and spokesliars

The more idiotic and self-serving you are, the more likely WE are to see the bullshit.

[bertman]

40. Mid America CropLife Association. Huh??!! That's almost as good as "crop protection products."

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Jeffrey Stier= dipshit.

Jeffrey never heard of freezing or canning or preserving foods cause he can't see or hear too good with his head jammed up his rectum.

Until right after WWII the entire United States and the rest of the world subsisted on what was grown naturally. Then the munitions industry needed a market for its huge quantities of chemicals used for bombs and poisonous gases. VOILA. Chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides.

Does it ever occur to anyone besides me that we, as a species, as well as all of the other living organisms on this planet, might be better off if we hadn't "evolved" to the point that we could feed enough people that we would get to a world population of six and a half billion humans?

[Cha]

94. You're not alone..it's

occurred to LOTS of us!:)

[bertman]

107. Good. I feel better now. Thanks, Cha.

:hi:

[beac]

122. Can you imagine him during WWII??

"Your Victory garden is going to kill Rosie the Riveter!!"

[bertman]

160. He would have been imprisoned for treason. Great point, beac.

[RoadRage]

43. Wow.. they must be dizzy from all of that spinning...

Do they think we're that stupid? Like we'll just starve to death instead of heading to the supermarket to buy an orange from Florida if we can't grow one in our own backyard due to weather/climate? Seriously? You grow what you can in your own backyard.. then you buy what you need from other areas. It's not difficult to comprehend!

[Akoto]

44. Was Mr. Stier sober when he formed that argument? Good grief. n/t

[Locrian]

45. the bullshit that passes for corporate think is stunning

The bullshit that passes for corporate think is stunning. I mean it's getting comical in its transparency. Is there ANYONE who thinks they (corporations) give one rat fuck about anything except their profits?

[JerseygirlCT]

49. How do you make a giant-sized eye-roll icon?

Because that's what this demands. Ridiculous claims, ridiculous demands.

Someone ought to fire back. At the least, totally ignore them.

[Javaman]

50. " Cancer rates will go up. Obesity rates will go up"

Cat and dogs living together, mass hysteria!!! END OF THE WORLD!!!

Run!!! Fear for your lives!!! The organic veggies are going to kill you!!!!!!

good. fucking. christ.

what a bunch of pathetic corporate losers.

fuck them.

[Cha]

95. LOL! The Giant Organic Tomato that

Ate Cleveland!

[Javaman]

105. Attack of the killer Tomatoes!!! LOL nt

[Wapsie B]

52. How do these PR hacks live with themselves?

Good lord!

[underpants]

55. HILARIOUS report on the Daily Show from May featuring THAT guy from American Council on Science and

http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/2009/05/15/sam-bee-organic-gardens-lead-to-teen-ass-play/

[Cha]

Thanks for that..I'm saving it

for later!

[Bette Noir]

56. Yeah, right. Organic home gardens are going to doom us all.

These folks should get a life.

I think it's dandy that Michelle is giving some city kids a chance to find out where food comes from. That it's an organic garden is a plus. While organic methods may be inconvenient to use on an industrial scale, they avoid long-term harm to the environment, and should be encouraged. Think Stier is just afraid of losing his job? There are other, better jobs.

[happygoluckytoyou]

57. I SAY MAKE'EM HAPPY....SKIP THE VEGGIES...JUST EAT THE POISONS===>

in a related story...... please stop exercising, the lack of body fat could endanger you in a tornado as you would be easier to get blown away !!!

[PSzymeczek]

127. Don't forget

Mr. Bouncy-bouncy said that it's people who exercise who are driving up the cost of healthcare.:puke:

[Cha]

58. "Wah Wah WAh"..."my pesticides and

herbicides are better for you than Sun, Water, and organic manure"..

"I'm very afraid of losing money to nature" "WAH!"

Anybody who wants to..we need to write Michelle and support her and the admin on this! I'm there!

[OneBlueDotBama]

59. Dear Mid America CropLife Association

Go fuck yourselves....

Thanking you in advance for your cooperation...

Regards,

The students of Bancroft Elementary School and other interested parties.

[Merryweather]

72. OMG. The stupid, it BURNS

That guy must be on coke. And not the kind supplied by his corporate puppeteer, Coca-Cola.

[debbierlus]

73. 'If we eat locally grown foods we are going to have a lot of starvation'...

Sums up the depth of their corruption and profit as god, doesn't it?

Don't eat food from local farmers or your own garden or you will STARVE....

They are disgusting. And, it just goes to show how much they fear commonsense to rule, one little garden party and they are up in arms.

Poor big agriculture and pesticide companies....

Boo Hoo Hoo.

[heliarc]

76. And why can't everyone afford it?

Because local farmers aren't receiving farm subsidies in the amounts that the big agro companies are. Screw you "American Council on Science and Health."

[earcandle]

79. This is exactly the use of language that noodlebrain front page requests from the idiots of money

language that opposes truth (as obvious) and insists on
mediocity (as absense), while lying in our faces using
authoritative voices that make us think of 1984 and it's
farcical arrival in this century.  

Thank you Michelle for teaching the children how to garden and
grow your own.  We all might want to re-learn how to do this
as the need may arise once we boot these agribusiness farms
out of service, along with their chemicals that cause disease.

[Grown2Hate]

90. So wait... obesity rates are going to go up AND there's going to be a lot

of starvation? Shouldn't we think about all those poor overweight-starving people that Michelle Obama is helping to create? This guy is BRILLIANT. :sarcasm:

[WoodyD]

91. Help! I'm being attacked

by organic fruits and veggies! No, don't force me to eat that delicious vine-ripened tomato! I'll get fat and get cancer!

ITA with the other posters -- Stiers' statement reads like something from The Onion. A nice, chemically-grown, fertilized and pesticide-sprayed onion, of course.

As a kid growing up on the farm, we had a humungous garden. We raised everything, and in the late summer and fall we froze, canned and pickled it all. I hated the hours and hours of back-breaking work in the hot sun, but now I realized that in a way I was being spoiled. Nothing from a store will ever taste as good. Thank goodness for farmers' markets.

[Metta]

93. Ah, fear and smear from an industry. Nothing is beneath them.

If they say it isn't good, then the opposite must be true.

[cpompilo]

96. And a hearty F-you Agribusiness

Thank you Michelle Obama - you rock!

[Jazzgirl]

99. Why do people keep posting crap from Politico?

They have the credibility of Faux Snooze. I refuse to click on any of their links.

[Juan_de_la_Dem]

101. This country is F'ed up. You just can't win....

[Blasphemer]

126. Seriously.... this place is sick.... nt

[marshall]

103. Being green is in vogue now

Those chemicals are for large scale farming. Somebody with a little veggie patch in the side yard will want to go with the flow of popular culture.

[Coventina]

104. ATTACK OF THE KILLER TOMATOES!!!!! AIEEEEEEEE! RUN!

:eyes:

:puke:

:crazy:

:dunce:

:wtf:

[Mulehead]

106. A video my friend produced last week

of the organic student farm at Green Mountain College in Vermont. The director, Dan Sullivan, is former Senior Editor of both Organic Gardening Magazine and The New Farm on line magazine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3D2rV4ohDI
See Courney at 2:53 talk about how pesticides kill the soil, thus creating the "need" for chemical amendments.

[handmade34]

109. ignorance beyond belief, disgusting

"That’s a serious public health concern.” ...the serious public health concern is the excessive money corporations(esp. food industry) make from exploiting consumers, the rise of autism, diabetes, lack of education about nutrition and organic practices and benefits, etc. I Love Michelle Obama and Organic gardens...

note - I have 5 acres in Michigan if anybody wants to grow as much organic stuff as you are able...

[Name removed]

116. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Vinca]

114. Equal time for poisonous pesticides? They've got to be kidding.

"Crop protection products" - that's actually pretty amusing.

[beac]

124. To really amke it "equal time" she'd have to build a little river to catch the pesticide runoff.

"Look children, the peas we planted last month killed all these little fish!"

[Kermitt Gribble]

115. Her response should be

to make the garden bigger - take up the whole White House lawn.

Good for Michelle and her organic garden!

[katty]

117. what BULLSHIT!! greedy morons trying to get attention

[rurallib]

118. This pic made me think of my daughter

We had a strawberry bed out in the backyard. We'd send her out to pick berries and she would come back with one or two.
She would eat all the rest. We never got any berries out of that bed.

[deminks]

125. She needs to plant some heirloom seeds - and really tick 'em off. nt

[doodadem]

128. Michelle is setting such a good example.

There's not much reason anyone can't grow at least some vegetables--in pots, if nothing else. Plenty do well for container gardening. SOOOO much tastier, so much better for you.

We're enjoying the first yellow squash and zukes now, along with snow peas, and all kinds of greens (spinach, mustard, chard). Getting the first raspberries, although for some reason, the strawberries are really sour this year. All kinds of little apples, plums, and peaches on the trees. Blooms on the cukes, melons, tomatoes, and pumpkins.

I try to be as organic as possible--all the fertilizer comes from our animals, and start out trying insecticidal soap on bugs. But.....I'm not going to lose another whole garden to aphids and potato bugs again this year. I'll malathion them if need be. The ladybugs were just completely overwhelmed last year.

[edc]

129. Logic

“supported by sound scientific research and innovation.”

The term "sound" means only that an argument or a conclusion has no logical flaws. The soundness of an argument does not alone determine whether it is true or false. That the use of toxins on plants is potentially harmful to animals goes beyond sound research. It is a fact proven by repeatable experimentation.

[RedCloud]

130. My organic garden uses human grade diatomaceous earth for pest control.

Results:

Bugs are so gone I cry at how ruthless I was. (Not to fear, bees and other friendlies were allowed and still roaming freely).

Plants are booming as the elements in DE are excellent for their growth.

Folks, we are talking dinosaur age vigorous growth.

Screw the pesticide companies with fire ants!

[imdjh]

131. If Michelle Obama invented a cure for cancer, the right wing would see a downside. nt

[Generic Other]

132. I'd like to forcefeed that ag guy chemicals until he pukes green snot

What an offensive disgusting person. I hope he is the first to get the cancers he so enthusiastically predicts for the rest of us.

[Yavapai]

167. Do you mean, water board him with Roundup???

[AlbertCat]

133. Healthful????

What the fuck is a "healthful diet"? Is it anything like a "healthy" diet?

[4lbs]

135. Can anyone tell me what chemical pesticides were used on farms and gardens before America existed?

Oh, and for the RW fundie lurkers:

Did the Garden of Eden have pesticides?

[CaliforniaPeggy]

136. He must be very well paid to be able to say this with a straight face!

[LynneSin]

139. OMG you have to be fricking kidding me

what a nut job. Does he realize just how stupid he sounds?

[MisterP]

141. how does "innovation" evince that a product is safe? radium was innovative in 1900

and it melted your bones

[MisterP]

143. ah, the technocrats strike again: reminds me of when Homer became a missionary and did nothing but

lick toads:
"chemicals spaceflight GMOs nanotech geo-engineering will solve our resource problems, reverse global warming, and save your soul! And we'll all live on the Moon! Do you want to be a Luddite?! One of the imaginary mobs that lives in fear of Change(TM)?!!11"

[texastoast]

145. How about we email the Executive Director of MACA

And tell her what we think about their pesticides?


Bonnie McCarvel
Mid America CropLife Association (MACA)
11327 Gravois Road, Suite. 201
St. Louis, MO 63126

[e-mail]

Here's their website.

http://www.maca.org/

[Regret My New Name]

146. lol...

'bout the only response this is worth...

[bitchkitty]

150. Critical? SCARED is more like it.

She's so popular, that more people will emulate her, even food producers might jump on board if enough people start demanding it, and they'll lose business. Lots of business.

I love Michelle Obama - she is truly a role model.

[NuttyFluffers]

152. well, that's a new level of petty bitterness.

Michelle must be doing something right to get that sort of reaction.

[pjt7]

153. Jeffrey Stier

needs to be laughed at whenever he speaks.

[Blue_Tires]

154. the MACA won't be satisfied until we are all eating soylent green

[MISSDem]

156. That is just so much rubbish. One can take a paint can and fill

it with potting soil and plant vegetables and grown their own. Even if you just set it outside of your apartment door or window if you don't have room or land for a garden you can still grow stuff. Sure they are scared. If ALL growers adopted organic methods then all of us would benefit.

[otohara]

157. Check Out Their Site Link Called : Activists/Hype

He says this about EVERYTHING having to do with people changing their eating habits that include cutting down on chemicals.

http://www.acsh.org/healthissues/categoryID.2/category_detail.asp

[Lautremont]

172. "Jeffrey Stier, Esq"

That tells me everything I need to know about this blowhole.

[Coes]

159. excessive spin

“People are going to eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Cancer rates will go up. Obesity rates will go up. I think if we decide to eat only locally grown food, we’re going to have a lot of starvation.”

auw Jeeeez x 1000

[undergroundnomore]

162. michelle's garden

helped nudge me into growing a garden myself. I've been back and forth on it for awhile but if a busy woman like Michelle can grow a kitchen garden then why the heck can't I?

I love Michelle.

[damntexdem]

163. Thou shalt use chemicals on thy plants.

So saith the pesticide lords.

[sasquatch]

164. Suck my ass agribusiness

[tabasco]

166. People don't need no stinkin' vegetables.

[eppur_se_muova]

168. "Conventional" agriculture? Defined by whose convention?

The unsustainable heavy application of fertilizers and pesticides, combined with plowing and harvesting using machine power, requiring huge consumption of fossil fuels, became the "conventional" method only in the first decades of the 20th century, when it was advertised as "revolutionary", not "conventional". From the longer point of view, "conventional" agriculture involves labor-intensive small farms using nothing more than animal manure and compost for fertilizer, and much less reliance on powered equipment. You can't feed as many people that way, but a planet with too many people is not sustainable either.

[Raksha]

184. You can feed a lot more people PER ACRE with organic methods.

Of course you can't feed as many people as a factory farm can, because organic agriculture is more labor intensive, so you can't have a huge amount of acreage. But even if you don't go the bio-intensive route with double-dug growing beds, organic farming consistently produces more yield per acre than factory farming because the soil is more fertile. Take another look at that picture of Michelle's garden plot! :)

[eppur_se_muova]

187. Interesting point. nt

[eridani]

170. Teh Stupid is strong in those folks n/t

[Ilovevermont]

171. Like other corporate big business,

agribusiness cannot stand competition. People have forgotten
that human beings did just fine before pesticides and chemical
fertilizers. During World War II many families that I knew had
victory gardens. I had one at my aunt's house in the country
and really loved the wonder of watching the baby plants come
up and grow into delicious tomatoes, peas, and lettuce. 
As an adult I moved to the country and have had an organic
garden for 30 years. We are in cold country in upstate New
York, but I am able to raise a large part of our food, some of
which I put up for winter (root cellar, freezing, drying, and
even some canning).
We have had a lot more slugs and snails than usual, and I am
throwing a beer party for them tomorrow night. (It's raining
tonight.) They drink the beer, drown, and we are all happy.

[BrklynLiberal]

173. IT seems that they are afraid that people will realize the emperor is naked, and we CAN grow

food without chemicals and genetic alteration....

[AsahinaKimi]

175. OH, As if...

urged the first lady to give conventional agriculture equal time. Referring to chemicals the group euphemistically called “crop protection products,

Make them a deal. If the chemicals are so good, who needs it on veggies? Let them pour themselves a huge bowl of the stuff and have at it. If they eat it and survive, We can all put it on
Veggies and say "Yummy!" :sarcasm:


"Betcha Mikey won't eat it...":puke:

[Flora]

176. Oh, for goodness sake..

I, along with millions, have been growing "organic" veggies for years. Now we have to have corporations telling us it's bad for business and it's going to intimidate people to death??

People, just do what you need to do and stop waiting for approval.

[DeSwiss]

178. "....but their safety is also “supported by sound scientific research and innovation.”

- yeah, but it's the http://discovermagazine.com/2009/feb/22-very-tough-rat-big-risk-human-health">scientific research that hasn't been done that we're worried about.

K&R

[Raksha]

183. This has GOT to be the most moronic statement by an agribusiness spokesman yet...

Jeffrey Stier, a spokesman for the American Council on Science and Health, a group that accepts corporate funding from Coca-Cola, Kellogg’s and PepsiCo and generally sides with industries’ positions on health and environmental hazards, to be interviewed about the White House garden:

“I think the Obama garden should come with a warning label,” he continued. “It’s irresponsible to tell people that you should have to eat organic and locally grown food. Not everyone can afford that. That’s a serious public health concern.”

His reasoning: “People are going to eat fewer fruits and vegetables. Cancer rates will go up. Obesity rates will go up. I think if we decide to eat only locally grown food, we’re going to have a lot of starvation.”

Well, DUH!!! Somebody should clue this bozo in to the fact that when enough people in a given area decide they want to eat locally grown food, it doesn't take very long for there to be MORE locally grown food available, even if there wasn't before. Supply and demand and all that good stuff.

I happen to know of at least one brand-new organic farm in my area that came into existence at least partially a result of the demand created by IEOPBC, one of the biggest organic produce buying clubs in the country. It started as strictly a grassroots effort a little less than two years ago and has been growing steadily ever since.

http://www.meetup.com/organicproduce/

And not only that, but the brand-new Redlands farmer's market that just got started this spring just "happens" to be located right across the street from our pickup location. I'm looking forward to seeing it when I go to pick up my produce share on Saturday.

Of course we do have certain advantages here. We have a long growing season, plus this is historically an important agricultural area, especially for citrus. But everything else does great in this climate too. The local organic farmers have to be able to see the possibility of making a profit in order to go into business or to stay in businesss. We have literally created a market for them, and they know it and we know it. One of the local farms that has been supplying us for a while now actually asked the members what kind of veggies and herbs we wanted them to plant for us!

I can see where Big Agra would find this kind of local grassroots empowerment very threatening.

[No Elephants]

188. "WARNING: You may not be able to afford tthis food." Is that what the label would say? Will

everything someone may not be able to afford come with a warning label? Jewelry, designer clothes, leather couches, etc.?