Does Using California Water to Grow Livestock Feed Violate the State Constitution?

The ongoing drought in California has sparked media attention about the use of scarce water resources to grow particular crops—almonds, for example. Less discussed has been the use of such water to grow feed for livestock, even feed that is exported, and which thereby constitutes the indirect export of California’s water.

Yet this thorough analysis shows that at least 42% of all water applied in California agriculture in 2012 went to four crops used primarily as livestock feed.

It's clear why Water Footprint Network says "animal products form the single most important factor in humanity's water footprint" yet represent a glaring "blind spot" for the majority of the public and policymakers alike (although California Governor Jerry Brown did recently publicly advocate choosing veggie burgers over beef burgers to save water).

A few acquaintances of ours penned an extremely thoroughly researched and cited comment letter (to which we've been privileged to sign on) submitted to the California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) arguing that the allocation of such water at this time of drought conflicts with sections of the California State Constitution regarding “waste or unreasonable use” of water resources. Signees include representatives from Sequoia ForestKeeper, Ballona Institute, and the Wetlands Defense Fund. The comment letter further notes that the Temporary Urgency Change Order (TUCO) of 6 April 2015 violates the Public Trust legal doctrine that the SWRCB is required to enforce with regard to currently endangered native fish species, the environment, and the climate. The full text of the comment letter can be read here. We encourage you to pass along this information to everyone of your acquaintance who may find it of interest, including journalists reporting on these issues to help drum up media attention. With the Washington Post recently announcing that "the world is running out of water" per NASA satellite data, It is high time the public's attention is directed toward where our water is actually going with no further delay or confusion. Comment or ask us anything here.