Fall 2021: Atmosphere

Amid a sustained swell toward social justice, ongoing fluctuations in a global pandemic, and a late summer horizon marred with long-term drought and wildfire smoke, this issue of edible New Mexico takes a deep breath. It’s a breath of hopeful and measured relief, but also one of renewed commitment to face the challenges ahead. It’s a breath of the stuff that profoundly and inescapably connects us. Air is elemental to our atmosphere, whether the literal layer of sky we inhabit, or the intangible energy and attitude of a place.

“What a mystery is the air, what an enigma to these human senses!” writes cultural ecologist and geophilosopher David Abram in his landmark The Spell of the Sensuous. It is so pervasive and ever present, like the sea to fish, that we easily overlook its utter importance to our lives. We often miss, as Abram eloquently describes, that the air “is the soul of the visible landscape, the secret realm from whence all beings draw their nourishment.”

Amid a sustained swell toward social justice, ongoing fluctuations in a global pandemic, and a late summer horizon marred with long-term drought and wildfire smoke, this issue of edible takes a deep breath. It’s a breath of hopeful and measured relief, but also one of renewed commitment to face the challenges ahead. It’s a breath of the stuff that profoundly and inescapably connects us.

Air is elemental to our atmosphere, whether the literal layer of sky we inhabit, or the intangible energy and attitude of a place. Ellie Duke’s story considers how the atmosphere of restaurants has changed, shifting first to create healthier and safer environments for diners and workers to breathe in and then to adapt to a transformed workforce. Candolin Cook reports on a scene at a recent downtown Albuquerque Artwalk, where, despite a storm and ongoing impacts of the pandemic, a sense of shared enjoyment around food had returned to the streets.

In the more literal sense of the word atmosphere, we also turn our attention to the sky from which we draw nourishment but which, all too often, we take for granted. At Khalsa Family Farms, technology and innovative design are helping curb the carbon footprint of local food production. Carbon dioxide and methane are not the only greenhouse gases that agriculture produces; in these pages we also take a closer look at the often under-examined role of nitrogen in our food systems, both near and far, and report on how to limit nitrogen pollution at all levels of individual and collective action.

Finally, there is an air of excitement at edible because our new sister publication, The Bite, hits stands the first week of September. The Bite provides smart, artful, bite-sized stories that foster a deeper understanding of our region’s diverse culinary cultures; inspire adventurous, informed, community-minded forays into local food; and help build a stronger, more resilient, and more inclusive food community. Pick up The Bite’s monthly issues at the same locations where you find edible.