Guess How Many Gallons of Water It Takes to Produce a Single Almond

Ben Graham | April 7, 2015
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The answer? Try 1.1 gallons… for one, single, tiny almond. Seriously.

This is not previously unknown information to farmers. You would hope that the government in California is aware of those numbers. But that isn’t stopping Gov. Jerry Brown from punishing citizens for lengthy showers or watering their “nice little green grass.”

Think of it this way. The Blue Diamond brand of almonds offers boxes of 100 calorie packs. Each pack contains around 20 almonds and each box contains seven of these packs. That’s 140 almonds in a box. So, when you buy one of these boxes, you are also paying for 154 gallons of exported water.

The USDA predicts that California will produce 2.1 billion pounds of almonds this year. Let’s break this down:

  • A single serving of almonds is 23 almonds (1/4 cup).
  • A pound of almonds is equal to 3 cups of almonds, and that amounts to 276 almonds per pound.
  • That is equal to 579.6 billion almonds this year.
  • And, that’s a staggering 637.56 BILLION gallons of water that goes into almonds alone.

But, Gov. Brown doesn’t feel the need to regulate what farmers grow, saying, “I believe farmers should grow whatever they want.”

Agriculture in California drinks up 80% of its water, while accounting for only 2% of the economy. Gov. Brown isn’t cutting back on that 80% at all. The governor says, "As Californians, we have to pull together and save water in every way we can." He declares, "Overall, we're looking for a 25% aggregate reduction.” No, he is demanding a 25% reduction on the 20% of water used by citizens and non-agricultural business. That’s only 5% of their total water consumption.

How is that going to save them from the drought that they are suffering? How will Fining Joe Schmoe for taking a shower that Gov. Brown and his “state water board” deem is too long actually provide a solution to California's problem?

See Gov. Brown try to defend himself when he is grilled by Martha Raddatz below (He, of course, has to include the liberal tagline that is "Climate Change"):

 

 

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