Greening the White House

In an open letter to the incoming president last October, food activist and author Michael Pollan called for changes in U.S. food policy, most notably support for local, sustainable agriculture. As Pollan points out in the letter, our food production and delivery systems, which are largely petroleum-based, are unsustainable. In the letter he wrote, “Since enhancing the prestige of farming as an occupation is critical to developing the sun-based regional agriculture we need, the White House should appoint, in addition to a White House chef, a White House farmer.” As a first step toward increasing awareness of the importance of local farms and farmers, Pollan continues, “This new post would be charged with implementing what could turn out to be your most symbolically resonant step in building a new American food culture. And that is this: tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden.”

Several grassroots movements developed in response to Pollan’s call to appoint a farmer. One of those was the web site www.whitehousefarmer.com, which launched in November to accept nominations and encourage people to vote for a White House farmer. From more than 100 farmers nominated on the site, three finalists were elected by tens of thousands of voters. Claire Strader, the top vote-getter, farms in Madison.

As a child growing up in Massachusetts, Strader liked eating the green beans that grew in her parents’ small vegetable garden, although she hated picking them. At Troy Gardens, a full-production organic vegetable farm where Strader is the farm manager, she not only harvests beans, but also plans, plants and weeds many other crops. Strader credits her background in philosophy and women’s studies with her current outlook on farming. “Those classes caused me to think about basic ideas that keep me alive as a person: food, clothing, shelter. Thinking about myself in the world, what I wanted my footprint to be, got me thinking about where things come from, and about being self-sufficient.” Strader first interned at small organic farms in New Hampshire and Wisconsin. At the University of California, Santa Cruz, an apprenticeship program in Ecological Horticulture added to her skills, including beekeeping and orchard management.

Strader became farm manager at Troy Gardens on Madison’s north side in 2001. In addition to the challenges of turning several acres of weedy, open field into a productive farm, Strader has worked hard to develop the farm’s labor resources, through education and internship programs. “When the farm internship started in 2002, there were students from all different departments. Many interns were more interested in gardening skills than farming.” Now, the number of applicants is twice what can be accepted, with most interested in owning or working on farms.

Strader and the other three top nominees from whitehousefarmer.com are drafting a proposal for the White House. Strader says, “The goal is to move our food policy and food culture in the direction of local organic agriculture. The [. . .] garden is important to emphasize how much is happening at the local level already, to have an example of small-scale agriculture at the White House.” The small, symbolic commitment to a White House garden at a time when the U.S. faces many decisions about its food policy, Strader hopes, will lead people to think about food and its source. She says, “I hope that this program will cause people to ask ‘Who’s my local farmer? Is there an education program in my community? Where can I gain skills as a gardener?’” A White House farmer will represent change from the ground up.

By Natalie Wysong

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