By Ethan A. Huff, contributing writer to Natural News
When “progressives” speak about unsustainable food production, they often go after meat products as being among the worst foods for the health of our planet. But did you know that the amount of water required to grow a single serving of almonds using conventional methods closely rivals that of a hamburger patty?
According to the United States Geological Survey (U.S.G.S.), it takes about 460 gallons of water to produce a quarter-pounder beef patty like the kind served at McDonald’s – the type of beef produced in feedlots rather than on grasslands. Though this number can vary, it’s understood that having to grow corn and soybeans to feed confined animals requires lots of water, hence the griping of the political left.
But according to a study conducted by the Watershed Agricultural Council, a single edible almond requires about 1.1 gallons of water to grow. This equates to about 304 gallons of water to produce a single one-pound bag of almonds.
Comparatively speaking, this means that a roughly 1.5-pound bag of almonds uses the same amount of water to grow as a quarter-pound beef patty, which may come as a surprise to many of our readers.
Nobody typically eats 1.5 pounds of almonds in a single sitting as they would a quarter-pound burger, of course. But the comparative volumes of water required to produce both of these foods at these respective weights says a lot about how much water is required to produce them.
