There is no direct benefit of using imported almonds to conserve the U.S. water supply - Why?
The Economy: We support the U.S. economy and our farmers. The U.S. almond industry employs over 100,000 people in California and creates $21 billion in gross revenue. Ounce for ounce, the water to grow almonds creates more value as a crop than all others. Most almond growers are not "big agriculture" - they're small family farmers! According to the USDA Census of Agriculture, more than 90% of almond farms are farms, with most totaling less than 100 acres of farmed land.
Why not import from Australia? Australia has an equal or greater challenge than California with seasonal droughts. Furthermore, the Australian government recently acquiesced all water rights, meaning that water is on the "open market" for purchase. During the driest months, only the wealthiest of farms can afford to purchase water, leaving many family farming operations out to dry...
How about other countries? Australian, Spanish, and Italian almonds require significantly more resources and energy to grow, hence increasing the overall environmental impact of production.
We believe in supporting local farmers. We buy 100% of our almonds from local growers, also reducing the carbon waste produced from shipping the millions of pounds of almonds we process annually.
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