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https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/valley-voice/2023/02/05/growing-alfalfa-in-imperial-county-and-california-wastes-water/69860506007/ https:/

https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/valley-voice/2023/02/05/growing-alfalfa-in-imperial-county-and-california-wastes-water/69860506007/ https://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/contributors/valley-... Alfalfa is used to feed farm animals like pigs and cows. But we export 70% of what we grow in California to Japan and China. The Japanese raise Kobe beef with it and send it back to us for $200 per pound. The Chinese use it to raise pigs to meet their rapidly expanding demand for pork as they become more affluent and eat more meat. Why don’t they grow their own alfalfa? Because they are short of water and it is so much cheaper to buy ours. In fact, alfalfa has become an instrument for exporting subsidized water.

Dalewyn 2y ago
>Why don’t they grow their own alfalfa? Because they are short of water In Japan's case it's because they are short on land owing to the fact they're on small islands, of which the inland areas are mostly mountains. They have limitless water.
- packetlost 2y ago
  Last time I checked you can't irrigate with salt water and the process of desalination is expensive at scale. I don't know how much fresh water their climate has, but it's definitely not "limitless"
  - Jensson 2y ago
    Japan has about 10x the amount of freshwater as California, California is a desert with very little freshwater, most places has way more, even islands like Japan.
    - packetlost 2y ago
      That doesn't really negate my point, but it does mean it's less relevant to the discussion. Northern California is not really a desert though, which is where the majority of the agriculture is, no?
      - lizknope 2y ago
        There is a huge amount of agriculture in the California desert in the south around the Salton Sea. The "sea" itself was created by accident when the Colorado River irrigation channel broke and the river was diverted into the Salton Sink over 100 years ago. It has shrank in size but agricultural runoff keeps it from completely drying. It is also full of pesticide and fertilizer residue. Take a look at the google satellite view https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nc1Pno74iYmQBERKA https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nc1Pno74iYmQBERKA The Central Valley extends north to Sacramento and there are crops grown through the entire area but the far south is so warm even in winter that they can grow crops year round. A large amount of vegetables that people in the US eat in winter come from this area.
  - Dalewyn 2y ago
    A running joke in Japan, as a country with practically no natural resources (read: oil, minerals, precious metals), is that the one natural resource they do have tons of is fresh water. Consider that the Japanese find water so mundane they think nothing of using it disposably to make instant yakisoba (chow mein).

Dalewyn 2y ago

>Why don’t they grow their own alfalfa? Because they are short of water In Japan's case it's because they are short on land owing to the fact they're on small islands, of which the inland areas are mostly mountains. They have limitless water.

packetlost 2y ago
Last time I checked you can't irrigate with salt water and the process of desalination is expensive at scale. I don't know how much fresh water their climate has, but it's definitely not "limitless"
- Jensson 2y ago
  Japan has about 10x the amount of freshwater as California, California is a desert with very little freshwater, most places has way more, even islands like Japan.
  - packetlost 2y ago
    That doesn't really negate my point, but it does mean it's less relevant to the discussion. Northern California is not really a desert though, which is where the majority of the agriculture is, no?
    - lizknope 2y ago
      There is a huge amount of agriculture in the California desert in the south around the Salton Sea. The "sea" itself was created by accident when the Colorado River irrigation channel broke and the river was diverted into the Salton Sink over 100 years ago. It has shrank in size but agricultural runoff keeps it from completely drying. It is also full of pesticide and fertilizer residue. Take a look at the google satellite view https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nc1Pno74iYmQBERKA https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nc1Pno74iYmQBERKA The Central Valley extends north to Sacramento and there are crops grown through the entire area but the far south is so warm even in winter that they can grow crops year round. A large amount of vegetables that people in the US eat in winter come from this area.
- Dalewyn 2y ago
  A running joke in Japan, as a country with practically no natural resources (read: oil, minerals, precious metals), is that the one natural resource they do have tons of is fresh water. Consider that the Japanese find water so mundane they think nothing of using it disposably to make instant yakisoba (chow mein).