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January 2009 
More Wine, Less Cattle!
Posted on Jan 19th, 2008
by 
L'el
L'el
[aka how else could I ever look Al Gore in the face?]
So I'm geekily psyched about taking Water Law this semester. I keep reading these articles that say "Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century."
Water privatization, droughts, fresh water shortages... How could I really go out and live and be lawyerly in California without knowing about something that's such a fundamental Big Deal to western states-- and lots of developing countries too? (I worry, e.g.: are NGOs et al. adequately taking climate change into account when recommending that farmers concentrate on certain crops? Say, cash crops over something more hardy and sustainable, over anything diverse?)
I cracked open the first chapter of the text a couple days ago, and I'm so glad to be getting a better understanding of the system. Yeah, lots of the stats about increasing use and future needs are scary, but it feels great to be learning information (and soon, legal tools) to be able to do something useful someday.
So, some stuff from my reading:
Three important facts about western water use & the related economy:
1) "Irrigation uses the overwhelming share of water consumed in every western state."
2) Surprisingly, the author contends "continued rapid population growth in the West, will not, in theory, overstrain the region's water supply." That is, despite the West's urbanization, water use by municipal areas and industries are insignificant compared to well, see 1.
"[I]n California and elsewhere, a relatively modest reduction in agricultural use-- on the order of 10 or 12 percent-- could free up enough water, in theory, to permit decades of population growth."
3) "[M]ost agricultural water grows low-value crops."
And what's the answer to that problem? How about, "Alex, what is vegetarianism?"
"In California... nearly 1 million acres of irrigated pasture requires about 4.2 million acre-feet of water per year-- as much as an urban population of 23 million. Pasture, though it is the single largest water user in California, is an extremely low-value crop, with a gross value of just $93 Million (1986) in a $480 Billion state economy. (Pasture's total economic value is several times greater if one calculates secondary benefits, but a much smaller amount of water used on high-value crops or in an urban setting would produce equal secondary benefits.)"
And the next largest water consumers in California? Alfalfa, cotton, and irrigated rice.
These top four water consumers accounted for nearly half of all agricultural water use in California. "By contrast, the value of California's grape crop- $1.5billion-- was almost equal to that of ALL the crops just mentioned, but the grape acreage used just 1.6 million acre-feet of water, about one-ninth as much."
MORE WINE, LESS CATTLE? Sounds like a motto to me.
(Oh and it's not just wine. Think of all the other yummy crops from Cali: avocados, strawberries, oranges, asparagus, almonds, walnuts... all are Higher-value but use less water than pasture/alfalfa/cotton/rice.)
So I'm geekily psyched about taking Water Law this semester. I keep reading these articles that say "Water will be in the twenty-first century what oil was in the twentieth century."
Water privatization, droughts, fresh water shortages... How could I really go out and live and be lawyerly in California without knowing about something that's such a fundamental Big Deal to western states-- and lots of developing countries too? (I worry, e.g.: are NGOs et al. adequately taking climate change into account when recommending that farmers concentrate on certain crops? Say, cash crops over something more hardy and sustainable, over anything diverse?)
I cracked open the first chapter of the text a couple days ago, and I'm so glad to be getting a better understanding of the system. Yeah, lots of the stats about increasing use and future needs are scary, but it feels great to be learning information (and soon, legal tools) to be able to do something useful someday.
So, some stuff from my reading:
Three important facts about western water use & the related economy:
1) "Irrigation uses the overwhelming share of water consumed in every western state."
2) Surprisingly, the author contends "continued rapid population growth in the West, will not, in theory, overstrain the region's water supply." That is, despite the West's urbanization, water use by municipal areas and industries are insignificant compared to well, see 1.
"[I]n California and elsewhere, a relatively modest reduction in agricultural use-- on the order of 10 or 12 percent-- could free up enough water, in theory, to permit decades of population growth."
3) "[M]ost agricultural water grows low-value crops."
And what's the answer to that problem? How about, "Alex, what is vegetarianism?"
"In California... nearly 1 million acres of irrigated pasture requires about 4.2 million acre-feet of water per year-- as much as an urban population of 23 million. Pasture, though it is the single largest water user in California, is an extremely low-value crop, with a gross value of just $93 Million (1986) in a $480 Billion state economy. (Pasture's total economic value is several times greater if one calculates secondary benefits, but a much smaller amount of water used on high-value crops or in an urban setting would produce equal secondary benefits.)"
And the next largest water consumers in California? Alfalfa, cotton, and irrigated rice.
These top four water consumers accounted for nearly half of all agricultural water use in California. "By contrast, the value of California's grape crop- $1.5billion-- was almost equal to that of ALL the crops just mentioned, but the grape acreage used just 1.6 million acre-feet of water, about one-ninth as much."
MORE WINE, LESS CATTLE? Sounds like a motto to me.
(Oh and it's not just wine. Think of all the other yummy crops from Cali: avocados, strawberries, oranges, asparagus, almonds, walnuts... all are Higher-value but use less water than pasture/alfalfa/cotton/rice.)
Access: Public
L'el, thanks for sharing this information. It is impressive. I never took a water resources class in law school, but then again I graduated in 1975!
Just as you are doing here, I think it is very important to continue to inform people about how the single easiest and most productive way to fight global warming is by diminishing the poundage of animals one eats. Water use efficiency, energy efficiency, human health, pollution reduction and ecological efficiency, all scream out for reduced production and consumption of animal products. Keep on spreading the word!
Peace,
Earon
Fewer cows would mean less cow poo water on our spinach … yea!
Also water is becoming a significant factor in international relations (Canada and US).
Consumers have a lot of influence, just by shopping for food. It's really the easiest way to be an “activist”, by putting your money where your mouth will soon be. Good luck with your lawyerly activities.
The New Mexican in me is smiling ear to ear.
Little wonder New Mexicans love wine. Hmmm - interesting.
I wonder how much water is used by soy. If soy uses a lot, then I'm part of the problem.
Great info!
I'm glad you're all finding the info interesting– I'll post more at some point!
As for soy, good question— I don't know! One document via google says soy uses about the same amount as corn, and less than rice, but I'll let you know if I find anything more definite… ;)