At the Table – Sustainable White House?

This week, the New York Times ran a story called “Michelle Obama’s Agenda Includes Healthful Eating” (March 11, 2009) which we posted here on the Daily Table on Wednesday. The article discusses how our First Lady is promoting healthy eating and living, including an emphasis on fruits, vegetables and unprocessed foods, as well as eating local. She even goes as far as promoting community gardens and growing your own food.

The White House has confirmed that Mrs. Obama will be focusing on healthy living as part of her agenda. She has already opened up the White House kitchen to show off how the chefs cook and use vegetables. And many applauded the Obamas in February when they served organic wine at their first big White House dinner for the nation’s governors.

This is not actually new news. First Lady Laura Bush insisted on organic food in the White House when she was there – but she never publicized or promoted the benefits of organic, sustainable or local food. So the real news is that Mrs. Obama is being open about the benefits of local, healthy food and is promoting it to the public.

Serving local sustainable healthy food has made it to the White House. What this means is that the issues around today’s food supply have finally made it to the mainstream and are beginning to appear on the national agenda, which is a moment everyone who’s been working in this area should be proud of.

In addition to Mrs. Obama’s focus on healthful eating, other groups have also made inroads with the government. Slow Food USA was recently in Washington DC with a small group of national leaders in finance, industry and media to discuss with senior staff how to address the President’s national priorities—climate change, healthcare and education—in a way that reverses recession. Knowing that the government has the foresight to understand that food is integral to discussions on such issues as healthcare and climate change is saying a lot.

In addition, other groups like Kitchen Gardeners International are leading a campaign called Eat the View, an effort to get the Obamas to plant a victory garden on the White House lawn. In response to Michael Pollan’s call for a First Farmer, there’s even an effort to get a White House farmer onboard. This new administration seems open to listening to discussions about sustainable healthful food.

I was speaking with someone last week, and he asked me about the trends in the sustainable food movement. My answer was this is not a trend; this is not even a movement any longer, and Mrs. Obama’s public declaration that we should all be eating fresh, unprocessed and locally grown foods proves that. Sustainable food is here to stay – it’s not a trend, fad, or movement; it’s a realistic option that you and your family can choose when shopping for food.

But what does that mean for those of us who are still trying to figure out what healthy food really is? Consumers are still confused about what constitutes local sustainable food, so Sustainable Table is working to put together even more educational information to help you learn what you need to know so you can make the best choices for yourself and your family. In future columns here, I’ll try to break things down into bite-sized pieces so I can walk you through the issues, questions, and choices you have to make.

And maybe we’ll share some recipes and stories along the way. So, stay tuned – I’ll be back soon with my first installment of Sustainable Food 101 (or some other catchy title I still have to think of!).

(Diane Hatz is the Founder of Sustainable Table, Executive Producer of The Meatrix movies and co-Founder of the Eat Well Guide.)