(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In case it isn’t obvious by now, everyone’s looking to get a piece of the new first family. From shelter enthusiasts torn up over the Obamas’ adoption of second-chance breeder dog, to big-name designers peeved by the First Lady’s fashion choices, every decision the family makes seems to carry a wealth of import.

Perhaps the biggest hullaballoo has surrounded the Obamas’ choice of what to eat, serve and grow at the White House. It might have all started when Alice Waters, a chef and local-food champion, urged the family to plant a garden and weighed in on their choice of chef. From there, the White House vegetable patch became an environmental crusade of sorts, touted as having the potential to change the way America eats. Michelle Obama made good in the eyes of local foodies when she planted the organic dream garden on the South Lawn (although to the disappointment of some, the White House still won’t be housing poultry anytime soon).

Since then, the family’s billboard-for-a-cause potential has extended beyond the typical local, organic and homegrown triumvirate to a somewhat amusing effect. It turns out agribusiness lobbyists are also trying to get the family in their corner. According to the Telegraph, the Mid-America CropLife Association, a group that represents pesticide and fertilizer producers, sent Mrs. Obama a letter praising her decision to plant a garden but urging her to consider the value of “crop protection products.” Can you imagine if that totem of garden were suddenly doused and sprayed? Tempers would be hotter than the Obamas’ homegrown peppers.

Read more:
How Organic Food Works
How Organic Farming Works
Is it better to buy local or organic food?
How Community Supported Agriculture Works