<rant>This is a very interesting issue that I have approached mostly as a professional in the wildlife conservation world, where ag as an industry NEVER seems to work cooperatively to reduce its water use, and doesn't give a rat's ass if critical wetland habitats go bone dry (most notably, the Lower Klamath and now Tule Lake national wildlife refuges). That seven-state Colorado River deal? When they came together a few years back to iron out what all water users would do if water levels hit certain lows, the ONLY party that would not come to any agreement was the Imperial Water District, which of course represents ag.
Up in the Klamath Basin, farmers sucked water out of Tule Lake for crop after crop of not tomatoes or lettuce for human consumption, but alfalfa that was being shipped abroad, mostly to Saudi Arabia. While they were doing that, an entire grebe nesting colony failed because water levels dropped so low that coyotes started walking through the wetlands, and the adults abandoned their nests within 24 hours.
Other ag interests up there fought tooth and nail when a conservation org bought a water right from a willing seller (a cattle rancher) to send the water to a bone-dry national wildlife refuge. No one was taking a damn thing from them, but they did not want any net loss of water to ag, even if it was willingly sold, wildlife be damned (as if we haven't screwed wildlife enough already).
One caveat: Many individual farmers do not behave this way, but the organizations that represent them generally DO.
So, yes, we need to be very concerned about how climate change is affecting ag, but we also need to be very concerned about the choices ag is making. The ONLY way we get through the horrific water crisis in the West is for all parties to come to the table and get smarter about how we're using an overcommitted resource. That is the key problem: The government overcommitted, and the water-rights system here locks in the idiocy. My vote would be for farmers to focus on feeding Americans, not Saudi horses, and preferably feeding good stuff to Americans, not cashing in on crops that are destined for ultra-processed garbage that makes humans sick.</rant>
Brav-O Andrew, exceptional perspective on climate, food and their intertwined relationship. I believe one major part of the issue is... Americans take food for granted, if we can't grow-it, we'll just import it, because there's plenty of food available globally... which makes me roll my eyes & shake my head when I hear the foolish shallowness and ignorance of the American consumer...
We use to be like the Japanese, who looked 10, 15, 20 years in advance to predict such issues, thus knowing to plan for the future. 50 years ago, Americans did think more long-range, mapping out a future that could deal with economic tides... In the last 35 years that thinking has eroded to short-sighted thinking, 2 to 4 years... because 5 years is way too unpredictable... yet not if one anticipates.!?!
NOW, thanks to our politicians, we're been forced to evolve into a "Crisis Management" style of governing our economy... just look at FEMA, it can hardly save itself... they've become an "Oxymoron" agency... perhaps rename it, "Federal Emergency Moronic Agency"... just a thought...
My real frustration is having the ability to predict these tides, and doing little to nothing, even though we know it's coming. Climate change has been a surging issue for 30+ years... we've know this, yet we wait, WHY??? – ask Al Gore...
I was raised with the utmost respect for nature & food resources, perhaps that needs to be part of the education of our young generations...??? Field trips can be a very impactful and an eye-opening experience youngsters... those trips opened my eyes, making me think what I'd want to be when I grow-up, and able to make my mark in the world...
Fortunately, between my friends with large vegetable & herb gardens, along with my humble patch of dirt I call a garden, I can make a lot of things people regularly buy... yet, even if people grew more of their own, that would be far from what's needed to truly tackle this serious global issue...
We should ALL tip our hats and toast those organizations & individuals who are making an effort to create a true difference, and they have; along with educating the public to all be more environmentally consciences... that maybe the ultimate solution...
Thanks Andrew for writing such a truly impactful article... this is one reason why I encourage my friends to subscribe to Spilled Milk, thanks for your insightfulness, it's more than a gift...
So the other part is, what changes can and should we make, given the current situation? Aside from aggressive climate action, there is a significant short term problem of higher costs leading to greater food insecurity. I get the challenge restaurants face, the need to make hard choices, but I am particularly concerned with the impact on people at the lower income levels.
I write scary stories all the time. My biggest project, been on it over five years, backs me down emotionally and philosophically, forces me to question what I actually believe in and why. I take breaks from the project. All that spooky stuff and a lot more, and today, Andrew’s voice chills me and turns my nerves on edge. I tell people all the time to subscribe and once again, thank you.
My family and I farm in western Canada and it's beyond disappointing and frustrating to know that most of the other farmers we know continue to deny climate change despite increasingly hot summers that affect our ability to raise enough hay and grain to feed our cattle, or to grow enough wheat and other crops to sell (and then buy back from the supermarket); not to mention the growing threat of severe flooding or wildfires to destroy entire communities. These are the same conservatives who continue to vote against their own best interests while the politicians merrily line their own pockets, and they have their heads in the sand when it comes to their futures -- and their children's and grandchildren's -- in the family farm. The clock is running out, and yet Canadian conservatives are now whipping farmers and others into a frenzy by lying about federal fertilizer reduction targets, https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/longfield-dont-buy-the-misinformation-on-fertilizer-reduction-targets
So what are some short term solutions? Stop buying tomatoes? Buy less and don't hoard? Buy just enough to support tomato farmers? Bet back to buying seasonal produce? What is in season right now that should be on our table instead of tomatoes?
His questions were mine, so I'll just say that I look forward to your post ... but along with that, are there ways that you can see that we can create change, other than with our votes?
100% heads in the sand! Many live in their bubble, they bitch when prices increase pay it or pass on it that week. Depends on their priorities. Often there is no thought to how we got to this point, why are there no potatoes on the shelf? Why are avocados $4? Why is a scrawny lil whole chicken $20+? You hear it daily, “ damn supply issues! Damn government, Damn manufacturers! The awareness of everything you discussed…from water to feed to livestock to farmers to healthy pasture to produce to excessively hot temps burning up ground, is lost or unimportant. I was watching something locally, a farmer speaking about how their costs had increased just keeping their livestock alive & what they anticipated in the next 12-24 months, He felt we should expect to see a minimum of a doubling in meat prices by fall. And for those prices to double themselves twice again over the following 12 months with zero chance of them falling back in the foreseeable future.
I heard someone the other day comment, great, gas $ is finally coming down! Grocery $ will be next!
Ahh, I think we ALL need to have a conversation and include everyone, not just the government and climate folks. I grew up on a ranch. Its still a working family ranch. We have bad years and we have good years. We PLAN for bad years and celebrate the good ones. About every 10 years we have a dry summer. We sell off cows in a dry year because we cant grow enough coastal to feed them and buying hay from your neighbor is too expensive. This time we've been hit with high fuel cost and that means fertilizer as well.. This isnt anything more than those in DC sticking a fork in the American people. This is part of a plan. Let's also inform the American people that for decades we (gov't) have Paid farmers Not to farm their land. Think about that for a minute. Moving on lets talk about Lake Mead. There is a Massive development that was allowed to divert Millions and millions of gallons of water to create a lake for a development. It was political and the only winners were the developers.
I'm all for clean energy but doing at the peril of the American people and economy is just short sided and wrong. Lets make sure we don't sell our oil to China when we need it here. We need to make smart decision for everyone. I don't need to subsidize car companies for EV's and then give tax breaks for the wealthy to buy an EV. Lets all get together and have an intelligent discussion that takes in Everyone, not just the left or the right.
People only believe what the government tells them until it's to late. We have the best government money can buy. Food and product shortages and media plays it down or just doesn't report it. As you have said things are getting worse and no plan for a major change, heaven help us, because by the time people realize what's happened it's too late.
The overproduction and waste has to be a major part of the picture as well. How many millions of fast-food ketchup packs get pitched every month? How much is wasted from buffet lines on a daily basis. How much perfectly good food is pitched because of the misleading "expiration dates?"
In 2021, my volunteers salvaged over 200 tons of food from local grocery stores within a 7 mile radius of my pantry! 200 tons!!! This would have ended up in a dumpster and landfill.
Until the food industry changes as a whole, farmers will be forced to overproduce to meet perceived needs.
The reality is most people want to bury their head in the sand and complain rather than act. I applaud you for your continued efforts!
Excellent point. A couple of towns over from where we used to live (a very rural area), the elementary school was trying to teach the kids about food waste and a way to combat it, and they were saving waste food for pig slop. They were shut down for "food safety issues." REALLY? And many restaurants are reticent about donating food to shelters for fear of lawsuits.
I've taken this time of food inflation to really reflect on what my family eats and wastes. One thing that I've always known is that we simply eat too much. I'm now committed to getting down to the healthy weight I should be and saving money in the process!
I have advocated hard for the past 10 years on local food in Minnesota.
From direct to consumer, to restaurants to food shelves. Start sourcing local! Keep the dollars in your community and state. Change the way your sourcing. Eat seasonally. Learn to preserve, can and cut meat! Evaluate what your buying all year: the same amount of $ for beef, beef pork chicken etc can be purchased locally in lieu of big box. We recently started wholesale distribution. Helping farmers get their product into the hands of consumers. This is going to take so much educating; continually talking about food sources locally. Advocate, advocate, advocate.
Please research: the liberals have closed, or are in process of closing 8
coal fired power plants in the southwest, with pressure on nuclear, i read where the river power has to make up the difference. The Southwest USA gets hit by monsoons regularity So what is all the drought really all about?
Support your local farmers market! Find a cheap plot of dirt and grow your own tomatoes. Live small in whatever little ways you’re able. Thanks for this great piece!
<rant>This is a very interesting issue that I have approached mostly as a professional in the wildlife conservation world, where ag as an industry NEVER seems to work cooperatively to reduce its water use, and doesn't give a rat's ass if critical wetland habitats go bone dry (most notably, the Lower Klamath and now Tule Lake national wildlife refuges). That seven-state Colorado River deal? When they came together a few years back to iron out what all water users would do if water levels hit certain lows, the ONLY party that would not come to any agreement was the Imperial Water District, which of course represents ag.
Up in the Klamath Basin, farmers sucked water out of Tule Lake for crop after crop of not tomatoes or lettuce for human consumption, but alfalfa that was being shipped abroad, mostly to Saudi Arabia. While they were doing that, an entire grebe nesting colony failed because water levels dropped so low that coyotes started walking through the wetlands, and the adults abandoned their nests within 24 hours.
Other ag interests up there fought tooth and nail when a conservation org bought a water right from a willing seller (a cattle rancher) to send the water to a bone-dry national wildlife refuge. No one was taking a damn thing from them, but they did not want any net loss of water to ag, even if it was willingly sold, wildlife be damned (as if we haven't screwed wildlife enough already).
One caveat: Many individual farmers do not behave this way, but the organizations that represent them generally DO.
So, yes, we need to be very concerned about how climate change is affecting ag, but we also need to be very concerned about the choices ag is making. The ONLY way we get through the horrific water crisis in the West is for all parties to come to the table and get smarter about how we're using an overcommitted resource. That is the key problem: The government overcommitted, and the water-rights system here locks in the idiocy. My vote would be for farmers to focus on feeding Americans, not Saudi horses, and preferably feeding good stuff to Americans, not cashing in on crops that are destined for ultra-processed garbage that makes humans sick.</rant>
Brav-O Andrew, exceptional perspective on climate, food and their intertwined relationship. I believe one major part of the issue is... Americans take food for granted, if we can't grow-it, we'll just import it, because there's plenty of food available globally... which makes me roll my eyes & shake my head when I hear the foolish shallowness and ignorance of the American consumer...
We use to be like the Japanese, who looked 10, 15, 20 years in advance to predict such issues, thus knowing to plan for the future. 50 years ago, Americans did think more long-range, mapping out a future that could deal with economic tides... In the last 35 years that thinking has eroded to short-sighted thinking, 2 to 4 years... because 5 years is way too unpredictable... yet not if one anticipates.!?!
NOW, thanks to our politicians, we're been forced to evolve into a "Crisis Management" style of governing our economy... just look at FEMA, it can hardly save itself... they've become an "Oxymoron" agency... perhaps rename it, "Federal Emergency Moronic Agency"... just a thought...
My real frustration is having the ability to predict these tides, and doing little to nothing, even though we know it's coming. Climate change has been a surging issue for 30+ years... we've know this, yet we wait, WHY??? – ask Al Gore...
I was raised with the utmost respect for nature & food resources, perhaps that needs to be part of the education of our young generations...??? Field trips can be a very impactful and an eye-opening experience youngsters... those trips opened my eyes, making me think what I'd want to be when I grow-up, and able to make my mark in the world...
Fortunately, between my friends with large vegetable & herb gardens, along with my humble patch of dirt I call a garden, I can make a lot of things people regularly buy... yet, even if people grew more of their own, that would be far from what's needed to truly tackle this serious global issue...
We should ALL tip our hats and toast those organizations & individuals who are making an effort to create a true difference, and they have; along with educating the public to all be more environmentally consciences... that maybe the ultimate solution...
Thanks Andrew for writing such a truly impactful article... this is one reason why I encourage my friends to subscribe to Spilled Milk, thanks for your insightfulness, it's more than a gift...
So the other part is, what changes can and should we make, given the current situation? Aside from aggressive climate action, there is a significant short term problem of higher costs leading to greater food insecurity. I get the challenge restaurants face, the need to make hard choices, but I am particularly concerned with the impact on people at the lower income levels.
I write scary stories all the time. My biggest project, been on it over five years, backs me down emotionally and philosophically, forces me to question what I actually believe in and why. I take breaks from the project. All that spooky stuff and a lot more, and today, Andrew’s voice chills me and turns my nerves on edge. I tell people all the time to subscribe and once again, thank you.
My family and I farm in western Canada and it's beyond disappointing and frustrating to know that most of the other farmers we know continue to deny climate change despite increasingly hot summers that affect our ability to raise enough hay and grain to feed our cattle, or to grow enough wheat and other crops to sell (and then buy back from the supermarket); not to mention the growing threat of severe flooding or wildfires to destroy entire communities. These are the same conservatives who continue to vote against their own best interests while the politicians merrily line their own pockets, and they have their heads in the sand when it comes to their futures -- and their children's and grandchildren's -- in the family farm. The clock is running out, and yet Canadian conservatives are now whipping farmers and others into a frenzy by lying about federal fertilizer reduction targets, https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/longfield-dont-buy-the-misinformation-on-fertilizer-reduction-targets
So what are some short term solutions? Stop buying tomatoes? Buy less and don't hoard? Buy just enough to support tomato farmers? Bet back to buying seasonal produce? What is in season right now that should be on our table instead of tomatoes?
All great questions, and something I plan on addressing in an upcoming post.
His questions were mine, so I'll just say that I look forward to your post ... but along with that, are there ways that you can see that we can create change, other than with our votes?
100% heads in the sand! Many live in their bubble, they bitch when prices increase pay it or pass on it that week. Depends on their priorities. Often there is no thought to how we got to this point, why are there no potatoes on the shelf? Why are avocados $4? Why is a scrawny lil whole chicken $20+? You hear it daily, “ damn supply issues! Damn government, Damn manufacturers! The awareness of everything you discussed…from water to feed to livestock to farmers to healthy pasture to produce to excessively hot temps burning up ground, is lost or unimportant. I was watching something locally, a farmer speaking about how their costs had increased just keeping their livestock alive & what they anticipated in the next 12-24 months, He felt we should expect to see a minimum of a doubling in meat prices by fall. And for those prices to double themselves twice again over the following 12 months with zero chance of them falling back in the foreseeable future.
I heard someone the other day comment, great, gas $ is finally coming down! Grocery $ will be next!
No idea! Truly no idea.
Ahh, I think we ALL need to have a conversation and include everyone, not just the government and climate folks. I grew up on a ranch. Its still a working family ranch. We have bad years and we have good years. We PLAN for bad years and celebrate the good ones. About every 10 years we have a dry summer. We sell off cows in a dry year because we cant grow enough coastal to feed them and buying hay from your neighbor is too expensive. This time we've been hit with high fuel cost and that means fertilizer as well.. This isnt anything more than those in DC sticking a fork in the American people. This is part of a plan. Let's also inform the American people that for decades we (gov't) have Paid farmers Not to farm their land. Think about that for a minute. Moving on lets talk about Lake Mead. There is a Massive development that was allowed to divert Millions and millions of gallons of water to create a lake for a development. It was political and the only winners were the developers.
I'm all for clean energy but doing at the peril of the American people and economy is just short sided and wrong. Lets make sure we don't sell our oil to China when we need it here. We need to make smart decision for everyone. I don't need to subsidize car companies for EV's and then give tax breaks for the wealthy to buy an EV. Lets all get together and have an intelligent discussion that takes in Everyone, not just the left or the right.
Yup....scary and depressing. Thanks for talking about it.
People only believe what the government tells them until it's to late. We have the best government money can buy. Food and product shortages and media plays it down or just doesn't report it. As you have said things are getting worse and no plan for a major change, heaven help us, because by the time people realize what's happened it's too late.
The overproduction and waste has to be a major part of the picture as well. How many millions of fast-food ketchup packs get pitched every month? How much is wasted from buffet lines on a daily basis. How much perfectly good food is pitched because of the misleading "expiration dates?"
In 2021, my volunteers salvaged over 200 tons of food from local grocery stores within a 7 mile radius of my pantry! 200 tons!!! This would have ended up in a dumpster and landfill.
Until the food industry changes as a whole, farmers will be forced to overproduce to meet perceived needs.
The reality is most people want to bury their head in the sand and complain rather than act. I applaud you for your continued efforts!
Excellent point. A couple of towns over from where we used to live (a very rural area), the elementary school was trying to teach the kids about food waste and a way to combat it, and they were saving waste food for pig slop. They were shut down for "food safety issues." REALLY? And many restaurants are reticent about donating food to shelters for fear of lawsuits.
We really need to get out of our own way ...
I've taken this time of food inflation to really reflect on what my family eats and wastes. One thing that I've always known is that we simply eat too much. I'm now committed to getting down to the healthy weight I should be and saving money in the process!
I have advocated hard for the past 10 years on local food in Minnesota.
From direct to consumer, to restaurants to food shelves. Start sourcing local! Keep the dollars in your community and state. Change the way your sourcing. Eat seasonally. Learn to preserve, can and cut meat! Evaluate what your buying all year: the same amount of $ for beef, beef pork chicken etc can be purchased locally in lieu of big box. We recently started wholesale distribution. Helping farmers get their product into the hands of consumers. This is going to take so much educating; continually talking about food sources locally. Advocate, advocate, advocate.
WOW! what a great article. More people like me and the citizens of the world need more and more information.
This might be a good time to remind people the link between aluminum and Alzheimer.
Please research: the liberals have closed, or are in process of closing 8
coal fired power plants in the southwest, with pressure on nuclear, i read where the river power has to make up the difference. The Southwest USA gets hit by monsoons regularity So what is all the drought really all about?
Support your local farmers market! Find a cheap plot of dirt and grow your own tomatoes. Live small in whatever little ways you’re able. Thanks for this great piece!