Hello everyone! We hope you
will be able to join us at our next Pathfinder Produce market here on Thursday
afternoon at the Village Commons building, from 1 to 5 p.m. This year
begins an exciting time for our market, and we have hopes of expanding our
agricultural program here to provide even more delectable Pathfinder-grown
produce in the months ahead.
***
A recent edition of Mother Jones’ website
included an article by food writer Tom
Philpot, who selected his seven biggest food stories of 2015. His picks
included updates on the meat industry’s overuse of antibiotics and how
Americans are starting to eschew highly “processed junk.” Midway on his
list was an entry of how El Niño slightly eased the ongoing California drought.
Despite this, Philpot writes, “The Golden State
endured its fourth consecutive year of punishing drought, to which farmers
responded by drawing ever more deeply from finite underground aquifers.…
Farmers have withdrawn water so rapidly that the ground is sinking by
as much as a foot per year in some parts…. Meanwhile, growers continued to shift from annual
crops to long-lasting ones like almonds and pistachios, putting long-term
strain on those same aquifers…the state's farms have gotten so big and
productive that their water demands have outstripped the state's water
resources, even accounting for wet years.”
In an earlier post, Philpot explained that
California is nearing the end of an era where it received greater-than-average
rainfall, based on research by B. Lynn Ingram, a paleo-climatologist
at UC-Berkeley. During this 20th century wet spell, California
became the nation’s Victory Garden, accounting for nearly half of all
domestically grown nuts, fruits and vegetables. Through all that
activity, farms used 80 percent of the state’s water.
So, at a time when rainfall is decreasing, water
demand is increasing. California’s water problems are not going to get
better, and we can expect more bad news as massive fires, mudslides and other
climate stories play out in the months ahead. Sadly, all of this reminds
me of a Beverly Hillbillies episode where Miss Jane (Nancy Kulp), naively explained
to Granny (Irene Ryan) that she didn’t have to plow up the mansion’s front lawn
to grow produce, because all of that was taken care of through California’s
burgeoning corporate farms. Fifty years on, we now know that Granny, ever
spunky and resourceful, was right in her belief in food self-sufficiency.
For present-day consumers, the water-starved
west serves up several consequences:
- Expect food costs to go up as production costs increase and less bountiful harvests inflate prices (the law of supply and demand).
- Produce quality may suffer from the water shortage. In wet climates, plants grow lush and put out succulent fruits and veggies; conversely, water-starved plants put out spindly edibles. For several years, California farmers have had to reduce their water usage, according to the New York Times.
- Food distributors will seek out produce from other countries, like Mexico, Canada and Chile (some of which are also encountering water concerns).
Stay tuned to our Pathfinder Produce Blog; next
week, I’ll serve up some thoughts on how we may cope with the California
drought and the changing picture of American horticulture.
Until next time, be well, and be thankful for
plentiful clean, fresh water,
Lori
