White House Farmer

It’s not just what President Obama has on his plate, but what all Americans have on their plates that worries Claire Strader. She’s a full time organic vegetable farmer who was recently nominated by nearly 9,000 online voters to be the White House farmer for the Obama Administration.

The post doesn’t actually exist, but the idea came from Michael Pollen, author of several books including The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Pollen wrote an open letter to candidate Obama last fall proposing that a portion of the vast White House lawn be transformed into an organic vegetable garden. The White House has a chef, why not a gardener? Pollen said such an appointment would turn out to be the most symbolically resonant step in building a new American food culture, and suggested that the garden could stock the White House fridge as well as supply local food banks.

Around inauguration time, the farming community decided that should Obama decide to take Pollen up on his idea, they’d better have a candidate at the ready. And that’s where Claire Strader comes in. Clare is a farmer and an educator, and advocate for the local food movement - and she's the winner of the online election to select a nominee. She joins us from Troy Gardens in Madison, Wisconsin, where she manages the community farm.

(Photo courtesy highwind012 via Flickr/Creative Commons)