Memo to the President: Lose the Lawn

As the United States' 44th President, Barack Obama will have plenty on his plate. One thing he may not have to worry about is where those herbs and vegetables on his dining table come from: there's been a movement underway to turn part of the White House lawn into a sustainable garden.

The head gardener behind the initiative is Roger Doiron, a Maine environmentalist and garden activist who launched his Eat the View! campaign through the On Day One website in February 2008. Through it and other groups and websites Doiron is involved with, the crusade “has reached millions of people in one way or another,” he says.

Doiron has used these various platforms to request that the candidates, and now, President-elect and his family, make the White House a model for the rest of the country by converting part of the lawn back into a productive, organic garden. “ The White House has had food gardens before, and – with what is going on in the world today – it just makes sense,” Doiron says.

“There are 90 million U.S. households that have a yard and garden and more than 25 million households that grow some of their own food,” Doiron says. “Nine out of 10 households believe it's important to maintain their yards in a way that benefits the environment, according to a recent survey by the National Gardening Association. If we, the people, believe this is right for our houses, shouldn't it be the standard set for ‘America's House?’”

Doiron also advises that the new residents of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. veto the use of petrochemicals as fertilizers and pesticides in favor of practicing organic gardening methods.

The White House grounds span 18 acres and include everything from a jogging track, swimming pool, tennis court and putting green to flower gardens, several acres of grass for the annual Easter egg roll and landing space for the presidential helicopter. A staff of 13 groundskeepers and gardeners and a Chief Horticulturist “keeps them looking prim and presidential,” says Doiron.

“Surely, we have the space, labor, and know-how for meeting some of the White House's seasonal produce needs onsite.”

From his one-third-acre property in Scarborough, Maine, Doiron is a local-food advocate and founder of Kitchen Gardeners International, a global nonprofit network of more than 5,000 gardeners in 90 countries combining forces to take a hands-on approach to supporting the local food / slow food system.

On Day One is a web platform of the Better World Fund that has invited people and groups to upload videos expressing their ideas about what they think the next president should do on his first day in office to help address the world's most pressing challenges. There, and on Doiron's own site, Eat the View!, one can learn more about his plans and suggestions to transform the White House Lawn into a sustainable garden. The video shows how Doiron and his family dug-up portions of their front and back lawns and planted organic gardens. He did it at his white house, Doiron maintains, and the president can do so at his.

"I think the days and weeks ahead will be busy as people begin preparing for an Obama presidency and all the hope and opportunities it represents. We haven’t had direct contacts with the Obama team, but we know that they’re aware of this idea.

Encouraged by the response to Eat the View! and his video, which has been viewed on various online platforms like YouTube, Vimeo (where it tied for third place in its "Climate Matters" video contest), Facebook, etc., Doiron hopes his suggestion will be carried out by the White House. "The election offers a good opportunity for taking stock."

Doiron launched his own online petition in June, and noticed an uptick toward the end of the election. "The video is reaching an estimated audience of 50 million households through the ‘Climate Matters’ contest. I’m pleased not only with what ETV supporters and I have managed to do, but how we’ve done it. Aside from whatever minimal carbon our web-hosting company’s servers have emitted, our campaign has had a big impact with only a small environmental footprint. We’ve managed to do it quite frugally with only $4,000 in out-of-pocket costs, which has been paid for by individual contributions through our lawn sale."

The lawn sale Doiron is referring to is literally that: on Eat the View! and eBay he lists an on-going auction for chunks of his own white house lawn in Maine. Owning a piece of Doiron’s lawn is “purely symbolic,” he says. “Tax-deductible donations go to help real people and groups from the U.S. and around the world to grow some of their own healthy food,” Doiron explains. “By participating in our lawn sale, you're making a donation, a statement to the next president about how you want to see the First Lawn used, and a real difference in the lives of people trying to become more self-reliant in the way they eat.”

"I think it’s important that we walk the talk by showing that social change -- and organic gardening and food -- doesn’t have to be costly, for us or the planet," says Doiron. "This will be an important part of the success of the idea when President-elect Obama pitches it to the American people and asks them to do the same in their communities. Yes, we’re going to work up a sweat and get a bit dirty in the process, but it’s work with a purpose."

White House Farmer

Doiron is not alone in his pursuit -- other groups and activists are lobbying for local farming and sustainable gardening movements. Among them: Slow Food Nation, City Slicker Farms and Michael Pollan, the esteemed professor, author and New York Times Magazine columnist, who suggested in the latter the idea of a sustainable White House garden. In his open letter to the next president, Pollan suggested the appointment of a White House Farmer. "This new post would be charged with implementing what could turn out to be your most symbolically resonant step in building a new American food culture. And that is this: tear out five prime south-facing acres of the White House lawn and plant in their place an organic fruit and vegetable garden."

Doiron is pleased that other advocates are furthering the cause. "I'm very encouraged to see 'good food'-thought leaders like Michael Pollan championing the idea through their own communications channels. I’ll take a little credit for being the first to propose and push for it in this election cycle, but, if it has taken off, it’s because it’s an idea that many different people can rally around and call their own.

With Liberty and Lettuce for All

Like the man the nation elected as its next leader – and all that he represents, Doiron’s movement is a bipartisan undertaking aimed at unifying, improving and transforming our lives in the coming years. "The idea is that the White House lawn truly belongs to you and me," says Doiron.