Remember the big deal many in the media made about Michelle Obama planting a tiny organic farm on the White House grounds, something that a typical barking moonbat movement pushed for? Yeah, about that
When First Lady Michelle Obama planted an organic vegetable garden on the White House lawn in March 2009, she hoped to both set an example of healthy eating and to grow tasty edibles for her daughters and husband. But Michelle’s organic dream has been dashed by a nasty toxic legacy lurking in the soils of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. It turns out that a previous Presidential gardening team had used sewage sludge for fertilizer.
This is a fairly common practice with one huge problem. Sewage sludge tends to be laced with anything that people pour down the drain and often contains heavy metals. Not surprisingly, the National Park Service tested the dirt beneath Michelle’s garden and found the plot has highly elevated levels of lead averaging 93 parts per million. That’s below the 400 ppm that the Environmental Protection Agency says is a threat to human health. But I’d wager that Sasha, Malia and Barack won’t be getting arugula or tomatoes from this garden any time soon.
The likely source of the toxic sludge that has ruined Michelle’s garden? The Clinton White House apparently used a sludge-based product to fertilize the lawn during the 1990s! Aside from casting a shadow on the first White House vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt resided there, the sludge ensures that Michelle’s garden will never attain organic status. Organic certification processes strictly prohibit the use of sludge as a fertilizer substitute.
Oops! All you barkers can’t blame this one on Bush.
In reality, organic might be nice for a small garden, but, pesticides are wonderful things, so people do not have to sit out there and pick the bugs off constantly. Bugs that lay their eggs, as well as leave diseases, on the produce. Is it really a wise idea to use fecal waste (you know, that S word) as fertilizer? Try cleaning out all sorts of unwanted plants by hand in a farm field. The regular large farm produces way more food with less labor, and the food is in better condition, than organic. Yields can be 20% lower. And it is really no better for the environment. Among other issues.
Personally, I would prefer not finding screw worms in the stuff I eat.
Teach the article that you link to specifically says that the use of sludge fertilizer began in the late 1980s Clinton was not POTUS at that time. I BLAME BUSH I !! and I guess you should also. Incidentally since organic certification can usually be gotten if no pesticides or chemical fertilizers have been used in less than 7 years.
Whoever fertilized that previous White House garden with sludge doesn’t matter to me. What is amusing is that the know-it-all BHO White House didn’t have a clue.
I’m local to the D.C. area. All of us locals know that soil should be tested because of the history here of past contaminations.
Agreed, AOW. The land is so close to the water line, and, hence the sewage lines, that it is easy to contaminate the soil.
John, Mother Jones blames Clinton.