Whitehouse Garden Seems To Be Upsetting Big Agribiz.....

[Charlie]

Well now, whadda ya know.....seems as if The First Garden (US) is generating quite a stir around the world and amongst dow, monsatano, and dupont. Sounds like MACA is going apeshit about the idea of a high profile garden termed organic, shepherded by the First Folks!!!! LMAO about this.

"It may not be long until members of the president's staff are summoned to the garden to help pull weeds, like it or not. Not because the weeds are getting out of control, but because gardens are where some of mankind's greatest brainstorming sessions take root."

"There were probably more shudders in the big-chem corner when Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack celebrated Earth Day by announcing plans for a 1,300-square-foot organic garden -- USDA-certified, of course -- to be installed in the National Mall."

And this from lavidalocavore.......priceless.......

I just have to post this whole thing.....apologies to objectionists, go to the site and read more.....there's enough bullshit in this letter to fertilize......well, you get the point. Put on your chest waders for this one.

26, 2009

Mrs. Barack Obama The White House Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mrs. Obama,

We are writing regarding the garden recently added to the White House grounds to ensure a fresh supply of fruits and vegetables to your family, guests and staff. Congratulations on recognizing the importance of agriculture in America! The U.S. has the safest and most abundant food supply in the world thanks to the 3 million people who farm or ranch in the United States.

The CropLife Ambassador Network, a program of the Mid America CropLife Association, consists of over 160 ambassadors who work and many of whom grew up in agriculture. Their mission is to provide scientifically based, accurate information to the public regarding the safety and value of American agricultural food production. Many people, especially children, don't realize the extent to which their daily lives depend on America's agricultural industry. For instance, children are unaware the jeans they put on in the morning, the three meals eaten daily, the baseball with which they play and even the biofuels that power the school bus are available because of America's farmers and ranchers.

Agriculture is the largest industry in America generating 20% of the U.S. Gross Domestic Product. Individuals, family partnerships or family corporations operate almost 99% of U.S. farms. Over 22 million people are employed in farm-related jobs, including production agriculture, farm inputs, processing and marketing and sales. Through research and changes in production practices, today's food producers are providing Americans with the widest variety of foods ever.

Starting in the early 1900's, technology advances have allowed farmers to continually produce more food on less land while using less human labor. Over time, Americans were able to leave the time-consuming demands of farming to pursue new interests and develop new abilities. Today, an average farmer produces enough food to feed 144 Americans who are living longer lives than many of their ancestors. Technology in agriculture has allowed for the development of much of what we know and use in our lives today. 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?

We live in a very different world than that of our grandparents. Americans are juggling jobs with the needs of children and aging parents. The time needed to tend a garden is not there for the majority of our citizens, certainly not a garden of sufficient productivity to supply much of a family's year-round food needs.

Much of the food considered not wholesome or tasty is the result of how it is stored or prepared rather than how it is grown. Fresh foods grown conventionally are wholesome and flavorful yet more economical. Local and conventional farming is not mutually exclusive. However, a Midwest mother whose child loves strawberries, a good source of Vitamin C, appreciates the ability to offer California strawberries in March a few months before the official Mid-west season.

Farmers and ranchers are the first environmentalists, maintaining and improving the soil and natural resources to pass onto future generations. Technology allows for farmers to meet the increasing demand for food and fiber in a sustainable manner.

• Farmers use reduced tillage practices on more than 72 million acres to prevent erosion. * Farmers maintain over 1.3 million acres of grass waterways, allowing water to flow naturally from crops without eroding soil. * Contour farming keeps soil from washing away. About 26 million acres in the U.S. are managed this way. * Agricultural land provides habitat for 75% of the nation's wildlife. * Precision farming boosts crop yields and reduces waste by using satellite maps and computers to match seed, fertilizer and crop protection applications to local soil conditions. * Sophisticated Global Positioning Systems can be specifically designed for spraying pesticides. A weed detector equipped with infrared light identifies specific plants by the different rates of light they reflect and then sends a signal to a pump to spray a preset amount of herbicide onto the weed. * Biogenetics allows a particular trait to be implanted directly into the seed to protect the seed against certain pests. * Farmers are utilizing 4-wheel drive tractors with up to 300 horsepower requiring fewer passes across fields-saving energy and time. * Huge combines are speeding the time it takes to harvest crops. * With modern methods, 1 acre of land in the U.S. can produce

42,000 lbs. of strawberries, 110,000 heads of lettuce, 25,400 lbs. of potatoes, 8,900 lbs. of sweet corn, or 640 lbs of cotton lint.

As you go about planning and planting the White House garden, we respectfully encourage you to recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply. America's farmers understand crop protection technologies are supported by sound scientific research and innovation.

The CropLife Ambassador Network offers educational programs for elementary school educators at

covering the science behind crop protection products and their contribution to sustainable agriculture. You may find our programs America's Abundance, Farmers Stewards of the Land and War of the Weeds of particular interest. We thank you for recognizing the importance and value of America's current agricultural technologies in feeding our country and contributing to the U.S economy.

Please feel free to contact us with any questions.

Sincerely,

Bonnie McCarvel, Executive Director Janet Braun, Program Coordinator Mid America CropLife Association

11327 Gravois Rd., #201 St. Louis, MO 63126

Charlie

[Suzanne D.]

Unless you are trying to sell home-grown produce at a Farmer's Market. Then, it is poison and unfit for human consumption.

--S.

[Suzanne D.]

And that's the main reason why our country's soil is shot now.

True. There have to be several million people serving up fast food in America every day.

I like how they slipped in the "longer lives" thing as if the cool new chemicals in food had anything to do with that. "Back before we learned how to create artificial versions of real foods, people were dying much earlier! That means that chemical-laden and genetically altered foods are obviously more healthy!"

Ahh, I see. The need to be better than everyone else is indeed a valid reason to provide crappy foods for the nation.

Wait, how is this different from our grandparents?

Besides, if everyone tended his own garden, who would flip all those burgers?

Well duh. Home grown tomatoes aren't truly tastier and more wholesome than store tomatoes--it's just the way you PREPARE them that makes the difference!

No mention of "healthier" here. And yet we are living longer these days. Hmmm.

And a non-spoiled child will be raised to appreciate the canned and frozen berries that Mother put up last summer.

HAHAHAHAHAHA!!

What is left of it, anyway.

I am sure that insects and rodents are extremely welcome in commercial fields.

So that it only gets on the crops themselves. Well, and into the water system. And the air. But other than that, everything is good.

Because companion cover cropping is just too durn hard.

Which is necessary because all the ladybugs and mantises were killed with the aforementioned poisons.

Woohoo! Carbon emissions!

Yeah, those idiots who provided all of their families's sustenance for hundreds of thousands of years just didn't know what they were doing. Good thing we figured it all out, or the population might have just died out.

Michelle Obama: "Hey kids, come learn how to make your own garden with no chemicals, no poisons, and a healthy co-relation between nature and life!" Monsanto: "Hey kids, this great new poison will kill your weeds so you won't have to deal with them!"

--S.

[Billy]

Because of earlier diagnosis and technical interventions more of us are alive but that doesn't mean that incidence of disease has dropped. Indeed, as with diabetes, the incidence has vastly increased.

Indeed, foods that are stripped of their nutrients, have a few vitamins or minerals added back, and are called "enriched". Increasing amounts of petroleum based insecticides, herbicides, and fertilizers are needed to maintain crop levels, also kill the fertility of top soil, no oil, no food. This leads to pollution of the land, water, and air, what we used to call the "commons". Moreover, these practices lead to erosion, loss of habitat, and reduced biodiversity. Returning to traditional agriculture, would mean less dependence on foreign in-puts, like oil, and more food self-sufficiency.

Our reliance on oil (for energy and food) makes us vulnerable and less safe as a nation.

[Suzanne D.]

I agree. While I admit I like having my out-of-season produce at the store, the more I grow my own food, the more I learn to like (or at least tolerate) the foods I have saved. Maybe with some self-discipline I could learn to commit only to foods I and my neighbors grow--all year round. In the meantime, I am finding myself more and more likely to stop at whatever little produce stands I find in my area (often run by kids!) and buy anything that we don't already have on our own land. My 12-year-old son has plans to pick and sell our own excess vegetables this summer.

--S.

[Charlie]

Applause.

Good job Mom, you're "teach(ing) your children well".

Charlie

"Don't worry that children never listen to you; worry that they are always watching you." ---- Robert Fulghum