Over the weekend, First Lady Michelle Obama gave a speech in Washington to announce the opening of Freshfarm Farmers’ Market.
As she noted, farmers’ markets are a great thing: they encourage healthy eating, they bring individuals closer to the people who grow their food, and they enable us to buy locally and cut down on our carbon footprint.
But if the White House – and its Democratic counterparts in Congress – really want to support small farms and encourage eating locally, it’s going to take more than a speech at a farmers’ market or working in the White House organic garden. Perhaps the First Lady ought to speak out against our current agricultural policy – and the aggressive farm lobby – that encourages the production of a few staple crops at the expense of healthier fruits and vegetables.
The fact is, healthy eating doesn’t have to break the bank if our policymakers would – quite literally – stop manipulating the market and give small farms a break.
