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Compare this to alfalfa, an ultra-low-value crop the Saudis are growing in California because they bought senior water rights, then shipping to Saudi to feed co
by inferiorhuman 4y ago
Compare this to alfalfa, an ultra-low-value crop the Saudis are growing in California because they bought senior water rights, then shipping to Saudi to feed cows, essentially laundering water.
Alfalfa is used/needed locally for cattle feed. Unfortunately for all of the noise over growing nuts in the desert nobody's talking about the immense amount of water used to raise cows.
https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-drought-North-Bay-organic-dairies-5229822.php https://www.sfgate.com/science/article/California-drought-No...
But reforming the system would take so much litigation no California politician has dared to do it.
Yeah, it's a bit like Prop 13 in that respect. One only needs to drive down I-5 to see how militantly opposed farmers are to water conservation. California's got a vast system of aqueducts dating back sixty odd years and we're only now getting around to talking about maybe covering them to reduce evaporative losses.
- anonAndOn 4y agoThose billboards you see along I-5 opposing water restrictions are largely funded by Stewart Resnick, "the wealthiest farmer in the United States".[0] Cutting off the water would make Stewart less of a billionaire. [0]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Resnick https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewart_Resnick