tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post1369865672490877678..comments2023-11-02T05:18:38.925-05:00Comments on Antiquity Oaks: White House farmer?Deborah Niemannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10754242197245805551noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-91541303942774514022009-01-08T22:18:00.000-06:002009-01-08T22:18:00.000-06:00Sounds like your opinion falls somewhere between t...Sounds like your opinion falls somewhere between trendy and nuts? Locally viable is exactly the point. There are restaurants in Chicago, the suburbs, and even small towns in Illinois that use produce from local farms. They even identify the farms on their menus. A five-acre vegetable garden would produce a phenomenal amount of food, which is why there would be extra that would need to be donated somewhere. A garden that size would be far more than symbolic, although I wouldn't underestimate the value of the symbolism.Deborah Niemannhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10754242197245805551noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21054991.post-28155174572914539712009-01-08T09:11:00.000-06:002009-01-08T09:11:00.000-06:00Whilst it's an amusing concept, in reality, it's j...Whilst it's an amusing concept, in reality, it's just another attempt to use the President's name to push an agenda. Turning the White House lawn into a garden is fine, but it will in no way offset the <I>huge</I> footprint that White House posseses; it's symbolic, and largely pointless. Simply put, there are too many people, and not enough skills, in this country today for small-plot farming to make any difference except very locally. In addition, whilst giving fresh food to food banks would be a nice concept, the White House budget would be more efficient used dopnating cash directly to the various food banks - Indeed, most food banks can't accept much in the way of fresh produce anyway, as their operations are not set up to handle it.<BR/><BR/>I love that people can, and do, go back to the land, but it's a minority, niche, solution in this age. Hijacking the President's image to push an agenda that is only locally viable is not a particularly good idea, in my opinion.MaskedManhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01847118110075039840noreply@blogger.com