California Drought - Will it affect our pocketbooks?
California is in a major drought period. I wondered how that will that affect all of us. I found out on a recent trip to California’s Central Valley.
Did you have a pizza last night? How about salsa and chips or marinara sauce on your pasta? We eat a lot of processed tomatoes.
On this trip, the answer to what lack of water will mean to our dinner table and pocketbooks was all too clear. The Tomato Products Wellness Council invited a group of journalist to California to learn how these sauces are made.
Surprising fact:
The Central Valley grows most of the tomatoes processed in the United States. That’s actually 95 percent of processed tomatoes consumed in the U.S. This includes salsas, tomato sauce (all kinds), toppings for pizzas and much more. These need water to grow.
Tomatoes Growing in Central Valley
Sad fact:
The area is running out of water. At the Romero Overlook Visitors Center at the San Luis Reservoir (eastern foothills of the Diablo Mountain Range) we learned why.
San Luis Reservoir Central California
The normal water level should reach the yellow grass just in front of the green trees.
The rain in California falls in the north and is delivered to the rest of California via the California Department of Water State Water Project. There has been a major drought in the area and as you can see from the photo, water levels are dangerously low. The predictions for water supply next year are even worse.
Amazing fact:
It takes over 698 1/2 gallons of water to make a hamburger with all the fixings (bread, tomatoes cheese, lettuce, burger.) See photo. This was explained to us to show how valuable water is to our food supply.
Water and Your Burger
How much water it takes to create your hamburger.