In Cotton versus Olives, Kelly Zito (Village Green, SF Chronicle) looks at various crops grown in California and how thirsty they are for water that gets ever hard to find.
She met Richard Greger, an almond farmer in the San Joaquin Valley and "from his point of view, he and his peers may at the start of the next chapter of farming in California. First it was relatively low-value row crops that typically use lots of water; then it was permanent, high-value orchards yielding almonds and peaches. What's next?"People are looking at olives now.They use 18 inches of water in a year. Eighteen inches is really appealing."
Kelly Zito goes more in detail in Thirsty orchards' plight in Central Valley on ways that farmers find to cope with the current drought
The World Wildlife Foundation addresses the same concerns in Thirsty crops cause water shortages and pollution and quotes a 2004 study (Clay, J. WORLD AGRICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT A Commodity-by-Commodity Guide to Impacts and Practices, Island Press) stating that "agriculture wastes 60% or 1,500 trillion liters, of the 2,500 trillion liters of water it uses each year".
Elisabeth Rosenthal In Spain, Water is a New Battleground (NY Times...June 3, 2008) described how the same issues affect Southern Europe.
Will technology come to the rescue as Plants Text Message Farmers When Thirsty suggests? It could reduce wasteful water usage.
Water conscious for Green Day #36
Related: Edible Estates turns Front Lawns into Food for Thought
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