8/27/2025
My Dear Friend & POTUS, DJT,
Do you really like Big Macs or do you just eat them because you know they don’t have poison in them? You do know that they ARE poison, right? Not just because they are bad for your arteries, but because they are bad for the planet?
Do you ever think about ethics when you eat? I do. I am influenced by people like Thich Nhat Hanh (TNH), Michael Pollan (MP) & Barbara Kingsolver (BK) to consider eating a moral activity where the choices I make reflect my beliefs & values. TNH suggests savoring every bite while thinking about the sun, soil & effort that brought the food to the table. MP advocates being intentional about our food choices by reflecting on the impact they have on our personal well-being & the well-being of others. BK suggests knowing where your food came from & being a localvore.
SoW, how about going to the USDA Farmers Market on the Mall on Friday morning with Melania? You could get ingredients for a salad & put it together yourselves. Then you’d know it wasn’t poison & you could put in your favorite ingredients. You could mix ketchup with mayo for your favorite Thousand Island dressing & you’d have a tasty lunch!
You may be wondering why I am asking you about this today. Well, the news that Thailand is granting Burmese refugees the right to work got me onto the topic of food, because shrimp is a major export for the Thais. The EU gave them a yellow card for bad fishing practices in 2010. Environmental degradation was driving human rights abuses with overfishing & pollution leading to smaller fish stocks & tighter margins, fueling to ever worse working conditions The Thais cleaned up their act & the EU is buying their shrimp again & I can procure some for my community dinner tomorrow.
I encourage you to learn more about Thailand’s decision to transform hosting Burmese refugees into an engine of growth. An approach like that might work much better in the USA than the detention policy you are pursuing now.
BYBS,
