The Controversy Over The Role Of Almonds In The California Agricultural Industry

The Midwestern region of the United States has often been called the breadbasket of the world. However, to many people’s surprise California is responsible for producing about half of the fruits and vegetables in the United States (Walker). Along with fruits and vegetables California produces 80% of the world’s almond supply. This healthy and delicious nut has grown immensely in popularity over the last twenty years. In fact the Almond nut has just recently passed the peanut as the most popular snack in the nut family (Walker). Almond farming has become a multi-billion dollar industry in California, bringing in over 11 billion dollars and creating thousands of jobs. Despite the world’s new love affair with almonds, California is experiencing

One faction believes that almonds do not live up to the hype, and that they are draining water supplies, damaging the environment, and actually hurting business. California has now endured an 11year drought, which many individuals fear is only a glimpse of things to come (Holthaus). Recently, California Governor Jerry Brown signed off on an action plan to battle the drought, which involves cutting 25 percent of urban water usage (Walker). Many citizens look to almond farming as a major cause of the water shortages. Not only do almond trees require roughly 1.1 gallons of water per nut, but they also require year round watering which other crops do not

Firstly, the almond business brings in billions of dollars and creates thousands of jobs, for a state that is struggling financially (Hamblin). Additionally, over the last twenty years almond farmers have taken large strides in using more water efficient technology, such as drip irrigation, and using the entire almond tree, compared to just the nut. For example, despite a sixty percent increase in almond farming over the last twenty years the total water consumption has remained stagnant (Abcarian). In other words, even though almond farming has increased rapidly, the amount of water used by farmers has stayed the same. Today, the entire almond tree is utilized, not only the nut. Hulls are used to feed dairy cattle; dead almond trees are ground up and used as biomass fuel, and the large number of trees absorbs carbon dioxide in the California air (Abcarian). By utilizing the entire almond tree farmers are receiving greater output for the large amounts water absorbed by the