We Titled This Special Edition “Full Circle” For Many Reasons

We Titled This Special Edition “Full Circle” For Many Reasons

BECAUSE THE EARTH ITSELF IS A BEAUTIFUL BIOSPHERE WE ALL DEPEND ON FOR LIFE.

BECAUSE OUR JOURNEY AS HUMANS IS CYCLICAL WITH NEW OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN AND GROW.

BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE MOST CURRENT IDEAS ON CLIMATE CHANGE—THAT IS, HOW TO REESTABLISH THE HEALTHY DIVERSITY IN NATURAL SYSTEMS THAT HAVE BEEN DISRUPTED BY HUMAN ACTIVITY—SHARE ELEMENTS FROM THE TRADITIONAL WISDOM OF PEOPLE THAT HAVE LIVED IN WHAT WE NOW CALL SAN DIEGO COUNTY AND NORTHERN BAJA CALIFORNIA FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF YEARS.

This special edition unexpectedly came to be through some soul-searching I felt called to do last fall. Everything that was and is going on in the world made me feel like this is a time for less business as usual. Though climate change might seem too big, scary, or abstract to think or do anything about, this magazine that you’re holding has the purpose of offering an opportunity to slow down for a few moments, focus, go deeper, and hopefully discover some new perspectives, new information, and new partners in the work that lies before us.

We hope these pages change the subject, figuratively and literally.

This issue is neither definitive nor a one-time effort. It will be imperfect, and some might question what we do or don’t include. With respect to all, we aim to open new paths of understanding and connection through this magazine. What motivates this work is better health for all people, the land, and the animals and other creatures we share it with...most immediately in our home region, although these matters manifest all over the planet.

Okay, here we go. We’re going to talk about climate change in San Diego County, focusing on the land here, and even more specifically, with regard to our local food system.

Then we zoom in a little more, from two perspectives that offer insights about the land and the food that comes from it. We present regenerative agriculture and the traditional ecological knowledges (TEK) of our region’s Indigenous peoples. Lastly, we take a more up-close-and-personal approach with practical information, tools, and resources to integrate some aspects from the first two sections into our daily lives.

This issue requires both trust and boldness of our editorial team and of you. Let’s see where it takes us. Full circle.

Katie Stokes

Publisher and Editor in Chief, Edible San Diego

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PS: As we were conceiving of and preparing this content, many ideas, feelings, and questions presented themselves that didn’t quite fit in with the main features. So we created a space in the issue to hold them—and any that might occur to you—in this lovely blue stream of consciousness that appears in editorial features from this special issue. Thank you to Kim Reasor for her design of this space.