Organic Panic: Slate

Quoted via Slate:

When Michelle Obama planted an organic garden on the White House lawn—which, she told NBC this week, has already yielded over 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.

(See related article on Slate: Big Food Under Fire)

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. Believe it or not, 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." more