are these people for real?!?!?

I got an email today about how the Mid America CropLife Association (or, NAMBLA) is starting a PR blitz about Michelle Obama's organic garden at the White House. You see, they represent companies that manufacture agricultural pesticides, and they are mad that she's not using them. That's right, First Lady, you can't have an organic garden - the poison-free veggies you are serving to your daughters and important world leaders are simply un-American. Oh, and I hate to nitpick, but shouldn't you be dipping your bread in petroleum rather than olive oil?

I remember during the election when members of a certain party made fun of a certain other candidate for liking arugula...but maybe they would have enjoyed their leafy greens more if they were served with a tasty dusting of Methyl Bromide? Never mind that the National Cancer Institute has linked this chemical with increased risk of prostate cancer - which is probably just the tip of the iceberg.

The main reason I find this so infuriating is that is none of the Mid America CropLife Association's freakin' business how the First Lady wants to approach her project of promoting healthy eating. Thier kind of "conventionally grown" food is more than available to consumers, and in truth, it's not very sustainable. Pesticide farming is an invention of the 20th century, created to make the mass production of food possible - but it has nothing to do with "convention," as humans successfully farmed without this stuff for thousands of years. Pesticides make our food less nutritious, and they contaminate the soil, run off into our water supply, and basically make a big, disgusting mess. With all of the Obama administration's green initiatives, Mrs. Obama would be inviting accusations of hypocrisy were she to promote chemically-assisted farming. Yet, the pesticide people seem to feel they are entitled to pressure her to use chemicals - like spraying her crops is some kind of duty!

I signed this petition to support the White House organic garden, and I encourage you to do so as well if you think these pesticide people should back off. You can read the full text of the Mid America CropLife Association's letter to Mrs. Obama here, including the heartwarming tidbit about thier educational outreach to elementary schools "covering the science behind crop protection products." Wow. What an ironic euphemism: these products may indeed protect crops from pests (by poisoning the bugs), but really, the problem is that they don't seem concerned about whether people should be protected from their product.