One of the hidden costs of industrial agriculture is its intensive water usage. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), about 80 percent of U.S. consumptive water (and more than 90 percent in many Western states) is used for agricultural purposes.
Only about 3 percent of the water on Earth is fresh water, which is dependent on rain for replenishment. Fresh water stored in aquifers, meanwhile, is being increasingly depleted, at a rate that cannot be naturally restored.
In some areas, pollution has left water largely undrinkable while industry (often the same ones responsible for the pollution) is draining underground aquifers at alarming rates. Irrigation is necessary to grow crops (including alfalfa hay used primarily for cattle feed) in arid regions of the U.S., but experts say it’s unsustainable.
Source: The War on Water Is a Very Real Crisis
"There is no Left or Right. There is only Tyranny and Freedom."
This may be a large part of the undoing of Corporations…..They’ll literally cause their customers to die of thirst…..Not good business….
LikeLiked by 1 person
Reminds me of the outcry here against Nestle, Crystal Geyser and Arrowhead during the height of the drought. Many were outraged that these corporations were bottling and selling BILLIONS OF GALLONS of CA water, while literally only paying a few hundred dollars for the right to do so. Much of this bottled water was shipped out-of-state or overseas.
LikeLiked by 1 person
They do have think of their shareholders…right? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Comment deleted: Not relevant to post.
LikeLike