For most of us, stopping at a local farmer's market or produce stand is nothing more than a quick errand. Not so for Michelle Obama. The Washington Post's Dana Milbank explains:
"The Secret Service and the D.C. police brought in three dozen vehicles and shut down H Street, Vermont Avenue, two lanes of I Street and an entrance to the McPherson Square Metro station. They swept the area, in front of the Department of Veterans Affairs, with bomb-sniffing dogs and installed magnetometers in the middle of the street, put up barricades to keep pedestrians out, and took positions with binoculars atop trucks. Though the produce stand was only a block or so from the White House, the first lady hopped into her armored limousine and pulled into the market amid the wail of sirens."
There's nothing like shutting down a few city blocks and a Metro station in the name of buying your groceries. And sure, maybe eating organic, locally grown produce is worth inconveniencing tons of other people in the city. Maybe. But wouldn't you think the Obamas would be a little more concerned about the impact this shopping trip had on the environment? As Milbank points out, each item purchased would have a carbon footprint of several tons when you consider all the vehicles that had to be dispatched to make the trip possible.
Part of the "shopping trip" involved a brief speech by the First Lady about the importance of eating healthy. According to Milbank:
"She spoke of her own culinary efforts: "There are times when putting together a healthy meal is harder than you might imagine."
Particularly when it involves a sound stage, an interpreter for the deaf, three TV satellite trucks and the closing of part of downtown Washington. "
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