On April 9, Michelle Obama invited a group of Washington, DC school children to plant a vegetable garden on the White House lawn.
Of course, this was done with the greatest possible hoopla, the press telling us how amazing it was that this stunning fashion icon would actually stoop to get dirt under her perfectly-manicured fingernails.
On June 21, the children were brought back to the White House to harvest lettuce, onions, tomatoes and other vegan delights.
Wikipedia says, “Sharecropping is a system of agriculture or agricultural production in which a landowner allows a tenant to use the land in return for a share of the crop produced on the land (e.g., 50 percent of the crop).”
So in a strange parody of post-Civil War agronomics, small children were brought in to supply free labor to plant and harvest vegetables that the First Family will now dine on daily. We scoured the news reports of the harvest and could find no references to the children being allowed to take home any of the fruits vegetables of their labors. However, they did get to snack on some of them after the harvest was complete.
But it gets worse.
On July 2, it was reported that the soil in the White House vegetable garden may hold enough lead to poison the child gardeners who worked in it and anyone who eats what’s been grown in it.
The White House, of course, says it’s no problem. They had the soil tested and the results show lead content of 93 parts per million. That’s higher than what’s typically found in urban areas, but not high enough to be considered a health risk.
“The garden recently underwent extensive soil testing that proved it is completely safe,” said the First Lady’s press secretary.
Will the United Farmworkers Union protest the White House’s use of non-unionized farm labor?
Will child welfare advocates protest the White House’s forced child labor policy?
Will eco-wackos protest the White House’s callous disregard of food safety regulations?
Stay tuned.
Source: Reuters
