What's Cookin' at the White House?

stevephoto2006Will the Obamas grow organic produce on the White House grounds? Stay tuned. 

Organic for Obama: the White House Farmer campaign

For more on the topic, see a new website -- great idea -- White House Farmer.

Voting is open until Jan. 31 to determine a list of three White House Farmer candidates, to be submitted to President Obama.

Sleeping at the switch, I missed Michael Pollan's call for a White House Farmer from Oct. 2009. It's a major piece of journalistic argument about our relationship with food and its environmental impact:

Farmer in Chief

The list of nominees for White House Farmer gives us insights into a Who's Who of American farmers. It's too bad there's no links to websites, associated with the nominees. 

Nevertheless, a GREAT idea to generate discussion and ACTION around the topic or organic food. 

Yesterday, Michelle Obama Spokeswoman Katie McCormick announced that Sam Kass, a private chef who cooked for the Obamas in Chicago, will be whipping up their favorite meals in the White House.

The Kass appointment makes him a junior chef to White House executive chef, Kristeta Comerford, who was asked to stay on in her role, in the Bush/Obama transition. 

The NYT reports that Sam Kass, one of the new breed of chefs who are concerned about the environment and about poor eating habits in this country, has been quoted as saying people in his profession should take the lead in tackling public health issues.