Sena Christian, in “Growing Heavy,” explains that many of California’s farmers, in order to cope with the ever-decreasing water supply, are putting their resources into their most valuable food crops, which also happen to be the most water-intensive. But many of the state’s most water-intensive field crops are not even destined for human consumption, but rather go to feed a vast expanse of water-guzzling livestock. The lack of mention of livestock in the article left out a significant portion of where agricultural water in California goes. Dairy and beef production use far more water than crop production in the state; thus, changes to the livestock portion of California’s agriculture would make a much larger impact than concentrating efforts on select food crops.
As a former resident of California, I can name dozens of ways my household was told to conserve water. However, we were never told to watch what we ate, even though changing our eating habits would have a much larger impact on conserving water. You can save more water by not eating a hamburger for lunch than by giving up showering for several months.
Carolyn Koestner
Saratoga Springs, New York
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Save water, skip the burgers.
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