All Americans should rally around developments that took place recently at the White House, pushed by the Obama Administration.

We speak not of the too-complex-for-human-brains-to-comprehend healthcare initiative. Details of that one will be worked out by our great-grandchildren, who will also be cursing the debt many presidential administrations have saddled them with.

No, we speak here of the First Lady, who apparently got her hands dirty with a small band of young friends, all the while pitching the benefits of healthy food while planting the White House garden.

The two issues go hand in hand, really. Healthy food contributes to a decreased need for medical intervention. It’s a simple rule that I ponder often, usually while munching fries.

The trend toward eating healthy is most evident in our backyards, which are rapidly being turned into mini-farms – “mini” being defined as anything from a planter box to a few hundred square feet. Americans are wisely tearing up sod and replacing it with zucchini, beans, peas, carrots and more zucchini. And more zucchini.

Aside from the peaceful nature of gardening, which has health benefits of its own – serious gardening ain’t for wimps – experts are extolling the virtues of growing our own food. We’re listening.

Garden expert and seed salesman Ed Hume stood before this year’s Breakfast for the Birds audience in Enumclaw and reported that vegetables on local store shelves have traveled an average of 1,500 miles. After that many miles, I’m not as fresh as I was upon departure and I doubt my carrots fare any better. There also are legitimate concerns about the procedures followed by those in foreign countries who ship our produce from their warmer climates.

Local garden guru Marianne Binetti, the queen of all things green and growing, has released a new book touting the edible landscape. I agree with the premise: why would anyone plant daffodils when the soil could produce potatoes?

Reality TV is enough to drive a sane person over the edge, but Jamie Oliver’s newest offering has produced, at least, some eye-opening information when it comes to food. Rolling into a West Virginia burg identified as the nation’s least healthy, he found kids who are mystified by relatively common veggies. But they know the menu at the local fast-food dive.

Make no mistake, I enjoy fast-food dives. There are few things in life more enjoyable than a bacon cheeseburger that leaves juice dripping down one’s chin. But, sadly, the best things in life are best enjoyed in moderation.

Seed sales have boomed in recent years as Americans find food simply tastes better, and is better for you, when grown within walking distance of the kitchen. Just as The Food Network has inspired average cooks to leave their meat-and-potatoes comfort zone, the TV chefs have sold the idea that fresh is superior.

We’re catching on, whether it’s at the White House or in our own backyard.