It sounds like a story The Onion would make up. Dana Milbank's reporting ( Hi-Ho, the Derry-O) of the First Lady's shopping spree to purchase "certified organic" Tuscan Kale last week is mind boggling. I keep looking for the story's redeeming features, but there are none. The story is so bizarre, it is difficult to believe. On Thursday, Ms. Obama decided to go "shopping" at a local "whole foods" store to purchase a variety of organically grown designer foods. The Secret Service and city police department required 36 vehicles, bomb sniffing dogs, barricades, a host of electronic equipment and closed an entrance to the City Metro; all to shut down, during rush hour, a several square block area around the White House. The First Lady then traveled one block to buy Tuscan Kale at Freshfarm Markets.
Perhaps as nuts was Milbank's primary critique; the "several ton carbon footprint" created by the excursion. While accurate in its depiction of rank hypocrisy, the meaning of the story extends beyond "carbon footprints".
Freshfarms Markets is a regional version of the more famously known Whole Foods organic food chain. One should have no problem with people wanting to spend money on anything harmless if it makes them feel better. Consumers engage in all sorts of activities which are "wasteful" in some "objective" sense. We buy vitamins which have no benefit, join health clubs we don't use, buy clothing that is not utilitarian, purchase games which merely pass time, root for our local sports teams, and so on ad infinitum. So what harm is there if one wants to buy "healthy" organically grown food?
But it is absurd when the government sanctimoniously decides to promote one of these otherwise harmless activities by putting its money (that is, your money) and influence behind it. This is apparently the case with Freshfarms. The high end grocery chain touts on its website it will be open for the next 6 weeks on Thursdays from 4-7 pm "near the White House". Michelle Obama gives some glowing quote, as she was the one who "encouraged" Freshfarms to do this.
The spectacle of the First Lady's shopping spree, intended to bring attention to Freshfarms and the ideology of "whole foods" generally, could have been a scene out of Orwell's Animal Farm. It was a clueless display of conspicuous consumption, on the taxpayers' dime of course, in order to indulge the Obamas' particular love of designer foods. As the president once said on the campaign trail in Iowa, "has anyone noticed the price of arugula lately?" One is tempted to say Ms. Obama's actions are especially distasteful during a time of high unemployment and great economic uncertainty. But even if this happened at the height of the great Reagan boom (or the "decade of greed"), my disgust would be no less.
This industry is a niche market aimed at the urban upper middle class. It is aesthetic, ultimately, in its nature, not scientific, and a ridiculous thing for a White House to put its imprimatur on. As Milbank points out, "hydroponically grown pesticide free" arugula sells for about $20 a pound. Again, a harmless vice, but not if this is promoted as some ideal way food should be produced more broadly, which is exactly what the First Lady believes. Can government policies be far behind? Michelle said "I've learned that when my family eats fresh food, healthy food, that it really affects how we feel, how we get through the day . . ."
Great. This kind of superstitious thinking created the banning of DDT, which has led to millions of deaths in the third world, Africa in particular. It is also akin to "climate change" fanaticism. Just as low emitting CO2 energy sources are the most expensive form of energy, "organically grown" foods are the most expensive forms of food. This is why they are fundamentally niche products in free market economies. But when government creates regulations requiring producers to move in this direction, food production becomes more expensive. This means for an equal amount of labor and capital less can be produced. The delta smelt controversy occurring in California's central valley is also born of this sensibility. Farmers are being denied water because the minnow sized fish is on the endangered species list. Same work, same capital, less food.
Let them eat arugula.
totally agree. it's quite funny that a lady that is seemingly worried about human impact on the environment would let the massive motorcade accompany her shopping.
one question though,
"But it is absurd when the government sanctimoniously decides to promote one of these otherwise harmless activities by putting its money (that is, your money) and influence behind it."
are they actually putting money behind campaigns to favor organic produce over normal? I see the influence thing, but is taxpayer money really entering the equation at this point? Perhaps you could argue that because tax payer money is spent on all that security, then yes. But, they have that security everywhere they go, not just grocery shopping.
Posted by: jon | September 19, 2009 at 02:29 PM