United States-Organic gardens.

UNITED STATES-ORGANIC GARDENING.

The USDA’s deputy secretary, Kathleen Merrigan, used Earth Day to show off the new organic garden in front of the department’s headquarters building on the National Mall. The People’s Garden involves a series of raised beds that have been planted to greens, herbs and other spring crops. It’s a fitting location, as Merrigan pointed out, in that the mall once served as USDA’s research farm.

Merrigan is arguably the mother of the national organic program because of her role first as a congressional aide and later within the Clinton administration in developing the USDA’s standards for organic food.

She told reporters today that the People’s Garden will serve as a way to educate the public about organic food. "A lot of people are still trying to figure out what organic means," she said.

Merrigan says the department expects its offices around the country and across the world to set up gardens of their own, but they won’t be required to be organic. She expressed confidence that USDA employees would take up the challenge. "There’s going to be a lot of natural uptake," she said.