Post-WWII Government-Endorsed Gardening

            Government-endorsed gardening did not end with the end of the Second World War. Rather, food supply continues to be a concern of our contemporary period. One of the many continuities of history is that the current Presidential administration once again promotes the idea of the American population growing their own food. The idea of government-endorsed gardening has expanded and morphed with each new administration that has adopted the policy.[1] The current form of the government-endorsed gardening program is particularly influenced and endorsed by Michelle Obama. This strain of government-endorsed gardening is focused specifically on nutrition and exercise.

            Mrs. Obama has instigated two programs the Healthy Hunger-Free Kinds Act (2010) and Let’s Move![2] These programs encourage children to live healthy lifestyles, through exercise and eating healthy foods. In order to inspire children to eat healthier foods, Michelle Obama has authorized schools to allow their students to grow gardens on the school’s campus. The goal is that these programs will provide hands on experience for school aged children and hopefully convince them to eat healthier foods and live healthier lifestyles. Furthermore, these two policies originated at the executive level and are being imposed upon the American citizenry, which demonstrates government endorsement of the policy. As positive and constructive with the best intentions this new version of government-endorsed gardening may be, it is lacking in success, because the American population as a whole is not particularly interested in participating.

           

In an attempt to further inspire the American people, Mrs. Obama published a book that discusses her experience with gardening, and employs a similar format of the advice manuals that were produced during the Second World War to teach first time gardeners how to properly grow a garden.[3] In addition, once again similar to the World War II period, this version of government-endorsed gardening is also being marketed to children.[4] There are programs that have been implemented in schools all across the nation in which children are able to grow their own fruits and vegetables in school gardens. The children then get to eat the food that they grew. The overall goal is to teach healthier eating habits.