google foo says this
Over a third of the country's vegetables and two-thirds of the country's fruits and nuts are grown in California
now maybe that can shift to somewhere else, but for the time being, that's reason enough to me anyways to make sure they get enough water
Its easy to point to water being wasted but if you're feeding the nation, you should get some consideration.
Blame the trucking industry. Before that, people ate fresh veggies in the summer and beans and corn in the winter. Then the truckers started hauling stuff north in the winter. Now our stores are full of fresh stuff all year round, not just when it's in season locally. We demand January lettuce and strawberries and CA provides them with trucks being the intermediary.
Trucks are also the reason that so much store-bought produce tastes like cardboard. Often the good stuff is too fragile to be trucked 1000 miles. Plant breeders have had to develop varieties that can take the highways without turning into mush. Quality tomatoes just aren't going to survive the trip from CA to MN.
I'm not complaining a bit about eating fresh green salads in the winter. I'm just pointing out the realities of CA growing all that water drinking produce. They're just providing what the rest of the country wants. They're using lots of water but it's to fill YOUR plates.
