Mid-November is rapidly approaching and I’m winding things down for the year, as holiday fun ramps up. I was shocked to flip through radio stations and find one of my presets has been taken over by Christmas music already. Let’s get through November first, please!

Today will be the last chat of 2025, so join us at 1 pm PST or catch it in the new year. Keep reading for three essays from this newsletter’s archives that are still pertinent to the food systems challenges we face now. I hope you’re doing as well as possible. xxDevin

Human teeth aren’t sharp like a coyote’s and we don’t have the python's ability to digest animals whole, so we have devised methods of processing. We harvest and kill, chop and press, boil and fry. Processing, cooking, or otherwise preparing food to the point that it is digestible takes time, knowledge, a place to do it and of course, a supply of food. 

Large groups of humans, such as armies or governments, can swallow people whole. We are gulped down as we buy into the marketing that assures us convenience is the most important attribute of food. And, as US citizens deal with our food having additives that have been banned in other countries, we are the lucky ones. In Gaza, people are consumed whole while they’re waiting in a line for aid. In the US, in front of the Israeli embassy, Aaron Bushnell set himself on fire in extreme protest of the genocide – preferring to die than to be part of devouring more lives.

Sometimes, the food I eat slips out of focus, even as it's in my mouth. What I thought it would taste like and what it actually tastes like blur. If it's heavily advertised and produced in massive quantities, it probably doesn't taste as good as I hoped.

Last month, my 9-year-old son became fascinated with a junk mail ad for the Wendy's Baconator on a pretzel bun. He taped the shiny paper to the side of my refrigerator and often mentioned how good it sounded. The idea for sale was the Perfect Burger, luscious, vibrant, and tantalizing. Lettuce greener than green, tomato redder than red. I restrained myself from going on a tirade about advertising, airbrushing, and capitalism. When he got the burger, it didn’t live up to the hype. He only ate half, voicing disappointment. The idea tasted better than reality.

Last week, this headline caught my attention, "Hobbs orders ADHS to implement 'tamale bill' to avert delay," since then, I've written over four thousand words spiraling around the issues of food safety, suspicion, and cooking for neighbors as disaster preparation. Last year Hobbs (the governor of Arizona) vetoed a similar bill, citing concerns about foodborne illness and the bill not providing "a strong enough mechanism to ensure home kitchens are free of hazardous chemicals, rodent or insect infestation, or that equipment and storage of temperature-sensitive foods are adequate, functioning, or even existent."  

Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Tucson Democrat, said that vetoing was "criminalizing poor people for simply trying to make a living." Sen. T.J. Shope, a Coolidge Republican, said, "Not only was the veto outrageous, but to continue to push racial tropes of homes riddled with insect or rodent infestation, it will just not be tolerated in the year 2023." Not surprisingly, I agree with those sentiments. But there's more bothering me.

I’m experimenting with offering a 30-minute call (plus 30 minutes of editing after) to work on either big picture strategy or editing (or a combo!) and answer questions. The call is $75 – discounted to $50 for paid subscribers (special link here.)

This call is perfect for:

Email me with questions ([email protected]) and if you book a call I’ll be in touch before we talk.

Join the last chat for paid subscribers of 2025 on TOMATO TOMATO, the Discord server started by Alicia Kennedy that’s the place to be for conversations on food, culture, ecology, and more. We begin in The Good Enough Weekly channel at 1pm PST on Wednesdays.