Global Almond Crisis & Critical American industry

RainbowSingularity

Valued Senior Member
California is one of the world’s most productive agricultural areas, and California’s almond industry is an important and growing sector of the state’s economy. California dominates the global almond market by growing about 80% of the world’s almonds

Ecological Indicators
Volume 96, Part 1, January 2019, Pages 711-717
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X17308592

Abstract
California almonds have been the focus of recent media scrutiny because of the large amount of water required to grow individual nuts and, by extension, for the industry as a whole. With almond orchard acreage doubling in the last two decades and becoming California’s most extensive irrigated crop, the questions arise: what are the benefits and impacts derived from this use of scarce water? Can we use this information to make decisions about growing and consuming this particular crop? We first use a water footprint approach to estimate total impact on water per unit of almond production in California, including variation in the water footprint over time (2004–2015) and across the production area. We then compare almonds to a set of other foods and crops grown in California using water footprint values and three other dimensions: nutritional value, per-unit-weight economic value, and total economic value. The water footprint of California almonds averaged 10,240 liters per kilogram kernels (or, 12 liters per almond kernel), with substantial variation over the time period analyzed. Water footprint values also varied twofold across the production area, with the smallest water footprint being in the southern counties of California’s Central Valley. In relation to dietary benefits, almonds were among the top three foods analyzed providing the greatest nutritional benefit per unit weights, however they had the highest water footprint value per unit weight. The direct economic benefits of almond production based on market sales were also greater than for any other major crop in California, however almonds again had the largest water footprint on a per-unit and aggregate basis. We find that nutritionally and economically indexed water footprint indicators provide information to better-inform discussions on the benefits and impacts of growing almonds using California’s limited water resources, relative to other crops. Such composite indices can be used in combination with more local and contextual information on water availability/scarcity, existing impacts, and agricultural conditions to better optimize water use within single crops, such as the almond industry, and among crops within a region. We propose that this approach should be used to inform political- and value-weighted decisions about agricultural water allocation in California and beyond.

do you have almonds in your beauty products or breakfast cereal ?
 
What is the point of your question?

"what is my hidden agenda?"
"what is the product i am selling?"
"what is the guilt trip i am selling?"
"who is the person i am saying is bad & wrong?"

"what is the short version" ?

"what is the black or white argument to define an us-verses-them"

"what is your angle?"


are you asking me to pick one of those ?
which one ?
 
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I have some in a chocolate bar - other than that, no idea. (I do not use or need beauty products. I'm too sexy for my shirts....)
Anyway, a lot of California farmers have already bulldozed their almond groves because of drought.
Now, as to the celery, lettuce, those crappy green bell peppers and wooden tomatoes - they use up a lot of water, as well, and are less nutritious than almonds. Hell, they're less nutritious than lawn-clippings! Rice, now, that's a poser. Why in the world would a water-poor state have rice paddies?
Almonds are not a crisis. A thousand species of animals and plants go extinct every week.
The next miracle food is not pomegranates or avocados or olives or soy beans or broccoli - they've all had their turn. Even PCB is all but passe. Whatever the advertisers go with is going to be the next crisis. I hear banana flour or tigernut.
 
I have some in a chocolate bar - other than that, no idea. (I do not use or need beauty products. I'm too sexy for my shirts....)
Anyway, a lot of California farmers have already bulldozed their almond groves because of drought.
Now, as to the celery, lettuce, those crappy green bell peppers and wooden tomatoes - they use up a lot of water, as well, and are less nutritious than almonds. Hell, they're less nutritious than lawn-clippings! Rice, now, that's a poser. Why in the world would a water-poor state have rice paddies?
Dude, there's a guy in Yuma who raises catfish. Because he inherited some water rights. The water allocation system is bizarre.
 
Dude, there's a guy in Yuma who raises catfish. Because he inherited some water rights. The water allocation system is bizarre.
Catfish swim around in it, but don't use it up: that water is still available for drinking and native vegetation. Water that's diverted to wide, shallow pools mostly just goes up. Well, but at least it's growing food, unlike all those swimming pools and courtyard fountains in LA. And they're cleaner - chlorine notwithstanding - than all that water in Alberta diverted to crud-oil production. Bizarre doesn't begin to describe the allocation of resources!
 
average consumer does
they have almonds in their breakfast cereal as a protein (around 20% of the cereal isle has almonds in them)
it has high bio-availability of many vital nutrients

also
the average family home has many products with almond milk or almond extract in beauty/skin care products.
almond extract is a important tool in the box for those with skin sensitivity's and the vegan market.

almonds are a big part of the vegan market.

almond milk is a vital part of the diet for children & adults with very serious allergies.

almond production is a vital part of the global food chain, just like a medication would be.
skin care is not optional for some people with certain skin conditions and can only use things like almond extract to settle skin conditions and put protein into the subcutaneous layers to help prevent skin lesions

many people with IBS irritable bowl syndrome rely on things like almond milk in their daily diet.

some peoples ignorance astounds me.
maybe its a culture thing

almond milk is an economic driver of cafes for a percentage of their business
 
Yup, they're pretty good, too. Peanuts are, too, and cheaper. All nuts are good nuts. My bulkfood store has almonds, hazelnuts and peanuts in hoppers, ready for the butter-grinder below. Fresh hazelnut butter, without the sugar and cocoa, at half the price of Nutella.
They also encourage reusable containers. I just keep taking back the clear plastic tubs they supply - for everything, not just wet items - since the scales already have the tare value programmed in.
 
Well it just so hapins... ive recently reduced my Almond consumption by 50 %

wow
thats a big jump
are you replacing it with something else ?

the bio-activity range of gut flora to process the band of protein is likely to be out of optimization with a shift to anything else depending on what you change to.


star bucks is going to hurt when they loose all their vegan customers because they have no almond milk

assuming they dont drink that nasty shit soya made from burning down rain forests and killing orangutans

Peanuts are, too, and cheaper.
im not dissing your nuts
but ...
almonds have way more higher value protein in them.
given alergy development and peanut saturation in the consumer market, we are likely to see peanut allergies slowly continue to rise
they are lethal in small children quite commonly.
children with allergies get brain damage from lack of correct nutrients in their diet.
adding something like cold processed almond milk would be the difference between the child being a university doctorate holder or a manual laborer/unemployed.

i suspect a mix of Brazil nuts, cashews & macadamias possibly with some sunflower seeds in may potentially replace almonds.
cold grind
 
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almond production is a vital part of the global food chain, just like a medication would be. . .
some peoples ignorance astounds me.
maybe its a culture thing

almond milk is an economic driver of cafes for a percentage of their business
You seem very angry over almonds.
 
wow
im not dissing your nuts
but ...
almonds have way more higher value protein in them.
So what?
Everybody can't have the optimum of everything all the time.
given alergy development and peanut saturation in the consumer market, we are likely to see peanut allergies slowly continue to rise
they are lethal in small children quite commonly.
I don't have any small children, or any sized children; I didn't grow up on peanut butter and factory-food and probably don't have time to develop the allergy, even if I start binging on peanuts now - which I won't.
You can't apply the same rules across the board.
Everybody doesn't want the same foods. Everybody doesn't thrive on the same foods.
Nobody needs to eat the same food all the time.
For healthy young people, the simplest principle is: eat a variety of wholesome foods in varied combination and consistent moderation.
My partner and I have different sets of old-age dietary issues, so that's what we work around.

i suspect a mix of Brazil nuts, cashews & macadamias possibly with some sunflower seeds in may potentially replace almonds.
cold grind
I give myself a jar of cashews as a treat once in while - I sure won't adulterate them with sunflower seeds - but they are good in many foods. I used to make a mean pesto of sunflower & pumpkin seeds, garlic and parsley.

PS - I find myself troubled hardly at all by the potential fate of Starbucks
 
My partner and I have different sets of old-age dietary issues, so that's what we work around.

think of a global picture
low cost access for low income elderly and working class to protein (elderly, (Adult & child)allergies, Vegans, Vegetarians)
African Swine Flu
Global Protein deficit
Almond collapse
(Trade War)[black market pork imports/exports]
...

The picture is being painted
it is just that the brush strokes are too big & detailed for the average person to comprehend the picture.

the usa should be rallying behind the almond growers as a national food security primary issue.

unbelievably poor over sight by those being paid millions to do that very job

the food security impact on not only the usa but many other markets is going to be considerable.

imagine all those fat unhealthy meat eaters having to resort to eating all the high quality vegetarian and vegan foods to shit it all out and get little benefit, so they must eat more and more
as the massive increase to waste ratio skyrockets in the remaining high yield protein groups.

it is a disaster just sitting on the brink waiting to happen
all it needs is a tiny nudge or two.
 
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