Water, water everywhere . . . and not a drop to drink.

[forest beekeeper]

We have had a very wet year.

We had to wait until half-way through August to even clean our ditches. The daily rain and standing water had no where else to go.

Coming from California, my parents and siblings farming there, I do understand their problem. However when town zoning and planners allowed tract homes to spring up out in the mohave desert, what did they expect?

Victorville and many others are cactus desert with no water source. Communities grow and become cities, yet without a source of water. As did L.A.

I do feel badly for the farmers there. And the folks who were lured to the region by jobs and housing. But somewhere they need to wake-up. More and more people live in Southern California, and they all 'want' water. There is not enough water to go around to eveyrone.

California's biggest industry is Ag. but the growing population is not Ag. So they will continue to vote for the water to come away from Ag for the urbanites to have lawns.

It seemed obvious to me in Highschool in the 70's that Ag in California is not the place to get into as a career field.

[Teak]

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

California's biggest industry is Ag. but the growing population is not Ag. So they will continue to vote for the water to come away from Ag for the urbanites to have lawns.

It seemed obvious to me in Highschool in the 70's that Ag in California is not the place to get into as a career field.

Not only is agriculture California's biggest industry, California is the USA's largest agricultural producer in US$ terms. Without California, Americans would probably have to import much of the vegetables, fruits and nuts (no not the Hollywood nuts, but pistachios and almonds) from other countries.

http://www.agclassroom.org/kids/stats/california.pdf

[djmilf]

Originally Posted by Teak

Without California, Americans would probably have to import much of the vegetables, fruits and nuts (no not the Hollywood nuts, but pistachios and almonds) from other countries.

Well, I'd agree with you, but...

The United States exports about a third of the food it produces.

Of the food actually consumed in the United States, somewhere between one quarter and one third is wasted (spoilage, thrown away, etc.).

Your average American could probably do with less calories and less red meat in his diet.

[forest beekeeper]

Originally Posted by Teak

Not only is agriculture California's biggest industry, California is the USA's largest agricultural producer in US$ terms. Without California, Americans would probably have to import much of the vegetables, fruits and nuts (no not the Hollywood nuts, but pistachios and almonds) from other countries.

And the California Ag industry is lossing it's access to water.

I agree that they used to be a huge producer of food.

Today, I was stocking shelves in a local grocery store [I do this p/t]. It is very hard to find anything on our shelves from the US.

I have siblings who are still farming in California, as did our parents before us. However 'water rights' are a very hot court battle in that state, and farmers have been losing that battle.

[marmac]

------"they used to be a huge producer of food"--

They still are

[Teak]

Originally Posted by djmilf

Well, I'd agree with you, but...

The United States exports about a third of the food it produces.

Of the food actually consumed in the United States, somewhere between one quarter and one third is wasted (spoilage, thrown away, etc.).

Your average American could probably do with less calories and less red meat in his diet.

But pistachios? Do I have to give up my pistachios?? Say it ain't so.....

I would be interested in knowing about the 1/3 of our food that we export. What percentage of that is wheat, soybeans, rice and corn? (These are typically not grown in CA.) Probably most of the California products are consumed within the USA since they tend to be truck vegetables (cauliflower, broccoli, strawberries, almonds and -YES!- pistachios) and not the commodities mentioned.

I remember as a kid having to eat those pistachios from Iran which had red food coloring on them. It would get on our hands, but we were so dumb that we thought that pistachios were naturally red. Imagine my coming-of-age experience when I had my first California pistachio in its natural color.

[djmilf]

Teak, the 1/3 food exported is based upon dollars, not on actual types of food. I don't know offhand exactly food products are being exported.

I don't think that too many American kids are going to be sad about eating less cauliflower and broccoli. Here in Michigan, we do see overpriced () California strawberries in the winter months, but the rest of the year we have reasonably priced and locally grown strawberries. And while we might not have California pistachios in the future, I refer you to my earlier remark about consuming less calories.

But in all seriousness, if California does experience a reduction in food production then the effect won't be felt in the United States. The South and the Midwest can probably take up some of the slack in food production, switching from corn and wheat to vegetables. We'll just have to go back to frozen and canned vegetables during the winter months.

My guess is that the real effect of California's diminished food production is going to be felt in the Third World. In the short term, it may trigger food shortages and riots in the poorest countries. In the long term, it may lead to continent wide famines.