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LINK Crop irrigation has changed, according to a new study | Salon.com

With Agnostic apparently declining I haven't posted as much recently but I thought this was an interesting link.

There will be large social and lifestyle decisions forced by these trends and questions.

From the link


The majority of our irrigation withdrawals go to irrigating agricultural crops (rather than things like front lawns), but Americans don't directly eat a lot of those crops as food. Instead, most of our irrigated food crops (like corn and soy) are fed in large quantities to livestock (which become our burgers and rotisserie chickens), thereby compounding the amount of water it takes to produce food in this country.
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we already know that many of the crops that are irrigated are turned into animal feed and it turns out, they also take the most irrigation water.

What was new and interesting to learn was how much irrigation has shifted from surface water sources to groundwater sources and how much groundwater depletion — aquifers that have largely been drained — has occurred throughout the country (but primarily in the Southwest and Midwest).
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Then there was the animal feed. It turned out to be the largest user of all irrigation water types, requiring enormous volumes at 33 km3 (26,750,000 acre-feet) of surface water and 13 km3 (10,054,000 acre-feet) of groundwater and causing 10 km3 (8,107,000 acre-feet) of non-renewable groundwater depletion.
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Eastern land irrigation numbers have steadily increased, from about 7% of total irrigated land 60 years ago to 29% in 2017. This is likely due to precipitation in those states becoming more erratic with the effects of climate change being felt around the country and farmers realizing the increased productivity that comes with crop irrigation.

The shift to eastern state irrigation is problematic because, as we've seen consistently around the country, no place is immune to drought. Even a seemingly water-rich place like the American Southeast regularly struggles with severe droughts and water shortages and consistent increases in irrigation have consequences for our water future.

At some point, the U.S. must reckon with the fact that we are depleting our water resources at a rapid pace through our agricultural practices. A new report from the Global Commission on the Economics of Water estimates that global freshwater demand will outstrip supply by 40% by the end of this decade. Agricultural practices that encourage waste are a large part of that demand.

It's up to our future leadership to make the tough choices and regulate water — especially groundwater — in ways we've never done before. As consumers, we have a lot of power in our ability to influence lawmakers, food companies and growers to center water security in their laws and policies. It's necessary, because the future of our food is at stake.

RichCC 8 Apr 4
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5 comments

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0

Stop eating almonds. Their cultivation uses a lot of water.

0

in my area irrigation is often used to produce bigger/longer potatoes for the french fry industry

1

All the rain and snow will not replenish the aquifers in California. Our aquifers are being deleted. 😢

All the rain and snow has only given a few more years of kicking the can down the road.

2

Another thing to consider here is that our earth has as much water as it ever did but water is being sent to large areas that need it and other areas suffer. We cannot "rob Peter to pay Paul" because this will not work in the end. This is all about money. The haves and the have nots.

1

This has been going on for some time. One of the largest aquifers in the country is quickly drying up. Some 2 million gallons of water per day are extracted from the Ogallala aquifer. Another price for our insatiable desire for animal meat.
[kmuw.org]

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