Tony Cardenas
The one California politician getting real about California's drought and water issues is Tony Cardenas CA-29. He seems to understand that California's position as agriculture powerhouse is unsustainable without major adjustments. Not only does he have an understanding about the urgency of California's water crisis, but he is also offering some simple solutions to alleviate the crisis.
Representative Cardenas has written an Op-Ed for the Los Angeles Daily News sharing his recommendations:
Californians are facing a record drought. According to a study by UC San Diego, over the last 18 months, nearly 62 trillion gallons of water have been depleted from our state. This loss of water has been so extreme that statewide restrictions have now been issued to drastically reduce our water usage.
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With the state producing nearly half of the fruits and vegetables grown in the United States, attention has been placed on the amount of water it takes to grow certain foods. According to the U.S. Department of the Interior, it takes approximately 500 gallons of water to produce one pound of chicken and 4,000 to 18,000 gallons to produce a pound of beef. These numbers are staggering, especially when compared to the water resources required for vegetables, fruits and grain — just 26 gallons for a pound of tomatoes or 220 gallons for a loaf of wheat bread, according to the Water Footprint Network.
Not only is Rep. Cardenas talking the talk but he is doing what most pols rarely do and that is walk the walk.
In that spirit my staff and I have taken on the Meatless Monday Challenge. Taking off one day a week from eating meat is a small way to cut down our water use and consumption while reducing our water footprint. Going meatless one day a week is also good for the environment and our need to combat global warming. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations recognizes that animal agriculture is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” While there are many responsible actors in the meat industry, the greenhouse gas emissions produced by animal agriculture are a reality that we should not ignore, especially in light of the growth of factory farms.
Darker areas have higher concentration of factory farms with California looking like one big factory farm
Rep. Cardenas states: "When I was first elected into public office, I vowed to tackle difficult problems with practical and realistic solutions". My kind of representative. We need more like him. I encourage you to read the entire Op-Ed.
I've written about the unsustainability of California's agriculture sector here. It's good to see some reality based, practical solutions on the table.