4,149
edits
The Almond: Difference between revisions
no edit summary
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
<i><b>Assessing the Future of Water Resources Through Food in Times of Climate Change</b></i> | <i><b>Assessing the Future of Water Resources Through Food in Times of Climate Change</b></i> | ||
In the middle of December 2020, [[The Soft Protest Digest:About|The Soft Protest Digest]] was invited to the [ | In the middle of December 2020, [[The Soft Protest Digest:About|The Soft Protest Digest]] was invited to the [https://janvaneyck.nl/projects/food-art-film-festival Food Art Film Festival] 2020, run by the Food Lab of the Jan van Eyck Academie; to create a project on food and hostile environments. Wealthy countries from the Western world, like the USA, generally don’t come to mind when thinking about agriculture; but no economy escapes from climate change. The collective used California and almond production as an exemple of a place where water is becoming a scarce resource because of climate change and land management: | ||
* Before the event date, an edible pastry in the shape of an almond was sent in a box, filled with nut species calling on less water. | * Before the event date, an edible pastry in the shape of an almond was sent in a box, filled with nut species calling on less water. | ||
* The screening online, while eating the almond dessert, of <i>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plow_That_Broke_the_Plains The plow that broke the plain]</i>, Pare Lorentz, 1936. | * The screening online, while eating the almond dessert, of <i>[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Plow_That_Broke_the_Plains The plow that broke the plain]</i>, Pare Lorentz, 1936. | ||
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
====Nuts and seeds to grow==== | ====Nuts and seeds to grow==== | ||
<u>Nuts:</u><ref>Refer to the page [ | <u>Nuts:</u><ref>Refer to the page [https://www.wikihow.life/Grow-Plants-from-Seed “How to grow plants from seeds”] on wikiHow.</ref> walnuts and hazelnuts. Why importing irrigated crops to Europe (almond, cashew, macadamia) when other types of nuts are grown locally with rain water? | ||
<u>Seeds:</u> buckwheat, amarante and quinoa. What about promoting the cultivation of drought resilient seeds native to the American continent, in California’s Central Valley? | <u>Seeds:</u> buckwheat, amarante and quinoa. What about promoting the cultivation of drought resilient seeds native to the American continent, in California’s Central Valley? | ||
| Line 45: | Line 45: | ||
But claiming more than half of the World almond supply comes at a price: | But claiming more than half of the World almond supply comes at a price: | ||
* The decline of wild pollinators and honeybees leads Californian almond producers to rent out more than one billion beehives from beekeepers every winter.These hives are transported across the country to pollinate almond trees — a necessary step to ensure almond production. Unfortunately, these orchards often become clusters for bee related diseases which later spread all over the states. | * The decline of wild pollinators and honeybees leads Californian almond producers to rent out more than one billion beehives from beekeepers every winter.These hives are transported across the country to pollinate almond trees — a necessary step to ensure almond production. Unfortunately, these orchards often become clusters for bee related diseases which later spread all over the states. | ||
* There is plenty of water in the Central Valley, but the agricultural sector is using it in an unsustanable way (it exceeds 40% of the available resource). This water stress was answered by the monetisation of water, by allocating water rights and the creation of local water markets. Consequently, the agricultural activities calling on the use of vast amounts of water, such as dairy farming, were soon penalised by its cost; while almond producers were less affected.<ref>*For more information about water markets, visit “[[Future extreme dynamics of water use| | * There is plenty of water in the Central Valley, but the agricultural sector is using it in an unsustanable way (it exceeds 40% of the available resource). This water stress was answered by the monetisation of water, by allocating water rights and the creation of local water markets. Consequently, the agricultural activities calling on the use of vast amounts of water, such as dairy farming, were soon penalised by its cost; while almond producers were less affected.<ref>*For more information about water markets, visit “[[Water series: Future extreme dynamics of water use|Future extreme dynamics of water use]]” on our wiki.</ref> Indeed, when it comes to water use, almond production is more sustainable than dairy, but still ranks high in the “nuts” category. | ||
* Almond being one of the most profitable crop to grow despite its pollination and irrigation cost; nothing seems to be able to stop its monoculture from colonising the Central Valley. By sacrificing 400.000 hectares of land to farm almonds orchards and harvest its profit; California proves that episodes such as the “Dust Bowl” have been evidently forgotten by the actors of late capitalism. | * Almond being one of the most profitable crop to grow despite its pollination and irrigation cost; nothing seems to be able to stop its monoculture from colonising the Central Valley. By sacrificing 400.000 hectares of land to farm almonds orchards and harvest its profit; California proves that episodes such as the “Dust Bowl” have been evidently forgotten by the actors of late capitalism. | ||