Nut Farmers Expanded As Drought Deepened in California - Ag Insider
This report is wild. It’s not like there was a minor expansion, nut orchards grew by 78%! Nut trees need a lot of water, something California famously does not have.
“Between 2017 and 2021 alone, almond and pistachio crops expanded so quickly that they required an additional 523 billion gallons of irrigation water. According to the report, that’s enough water to fill 790,000 Olympic swimming pools—or to supply 4 million households with enough water for an entire year.”
I’m picturing the meme with the dog surrounded by fire saying, this is fine…
Georgia judge charged with threatening garden owner after allegedly taking vegetables - WSB TV
Say what now? Yep, you read that right – but once again, another understated headline.
“Judge Eddie Anderson, 70, was charged Monday with felony counts of making a terrorist threat and violating his oath of office.”
Terrorist threats over a few vegetables! Y’all! What are we doing!?
Billionaire-funded eco group quietly taking farmland out of production in rural America - Fox News
There’s an interesting battle happening in Montana between Billionaires and ranchers, as well as the Federal Bureau of Land Management and Montana’s Governor. It’s difficult to take a position on what’s happening, as there are clearly pros and cons on both sides. Here are the facts:
- A nonprofit group called American Prairie is buying up hundreds of thousands of acres in an attempt to create natural ecosystems – their goal is to buy millions of acres to “create the largest ‘fully functioning ecosystem’ in the continental U.S. by stitching together about 3.2 million acres of private and public lands.”
- Part of their plan includes releasing bison onto the land, where they would have naturally grazed before massive depopulation. The federal government recently approved a plan to do so.
- Local ranchers and communities oppose both aspects of the plan: buying up land and releasing bison. Locals say it will reduce property values and put herds of cattle at risk of disease from bison.
- According to Montana’s Attorney General, the feds ignored their own rule in allowing bison to be released, as the land is dedicated for agriculture.
- There are currently 800 bison on AP property, and around 2.2 million cattle in Montana.
Cognitive decline linked to ultraprocessed food, study finds - CNN
So, what exactly are ultraprocessed foods good for? I mean, sure, they taste good – you load anything up with salt and fat and it’s pretty easy to tantalize your tastebuds. And sure, in a nuclear apocalypse they’ll probably stay edible for a long time.
We know processed food isn’t good for our health, and now it’s shown to hurt our brains, too. I guess if fake meat has one purpose it’s replacing these snacks. But really, let’s not overthink this and just eat more plants.