Water, water, where?

When I was a kid, ten or so, Dad would take Mom to the A&P store about once a month to do the supermarket shopping. The rest of the time we did our shopping at Sandidge's at Eubank but there were just some things at the A&P that Sandidge's didn't carry. I have stopped several times to look at that building, now gone, and have marveled at how much larger it was in the eyes of my memory. It was HUGE and had so much stuff in it. I have always been a boy and now a man that seriously loves to eat. Food is one of my major loves. Seeing all those choices just made my mouth water but what enthralled me the most was lettuce. I love lettuce. Salads are very high on my list. I am probably the only person in the world that can gain weight eating salads. Lettuce at that time was a rarity out of season. In season, which was dreadfully short, one had the black seeded Simpson that could be made into a delectable delight with some green onions and bacon grease. That was before we knew that stuff would make your blood ooze through your arteries rather than flow. Dang it was good!

If the budget allowed it Mom would buy one head of lettuce on our trip to the A&P and I would be ecstatic. I could never persuade her to buy more of it because it just was not practical enough. The same went for Miracle Whip. She would never buy the name brand and always bought the store brand. What it the world was that name? I swore to her that when I grew up there would always be lettuce and Miracle Whip in the fridge and so it has been.

Now, I can make a sandwich without Miracle Whip if I have mustard but without lettuce to give a sandwich that crunch it is just something to fill the hole in one's stomach. With lettuce it becomes something much more exotic. But those were different times and the interstate highway system and interstate commerce are so much more developed that those garden delights that once were only available in season are now available the year around. The presence of those fresh vegetables have become so ubiquitous that we take them for granted. Would you like some spaghetti squash in January? No problem. Cucumbers for Christmas? Just put it on the list. We all know that nothing beats the taste of a garden tomato but in the dark of winter we will be very accepting of one that is tasteless and hard as a brick. Back when I discovered gardening as a joy rather than a chore broccoli was practically unknown in these parts. I'm pretty sure that I was growing it before it ever showed up in the supermarket. Having lived the urbane lifestyle while in Lexington I had discovered it and developed quite a fondness for it. I also found that there were several other delights that it was possible to grow in the home garden and that changed the whole face of gardening for me.

Most people never think about where that stuff comes from or how it gets here but that is about to change. Governor Brown in California just issued restrictions on water usage that is to cut the volume by 25%. That is the water that grows the lettuce and broccoli that graces your table. The Central Valley in California supplies a very large percentage of the fresh vegetables in the produce aisle at Kroger. In California the reservoirs are at a fraction of their volume and the snow pack that provides water all year long is less than 15% of normal. Many farmers have already taken ground out of production to save water for other crops. The almond industry is one of California's largest exporters but it takes 200 gallons of water to produce a pound of almonds. Farmers are pumping water from the aquifers but they have pumped so much that the ground is subsiding. Well drillers are scheduled out weeks and months ahead because they no sooner drill a well than they have to come back and deepen it because the aquifer has receded.

Climatologists say this is the worst drought in at least 150 years, maybe 500 years. Some negative nannies say we are facing a drought in the Southwest not seen for a millennia
or more. I'm sure you've noticed that beef prices are through the roof. My family has cut beef consumption to the point that we now consider it a luxury item and will agonize for hours over how to cook it without messing it up. Remember “Beef, it's what's for dinner?” Well, no it's not. The reason for the price uptick is drought conditions that have forced the large beef ranches to cut the herd to hold down feed costs. This results in a tighter market and the free market says that is what causes prices to rise. But we have coped with not having beef as a common meal. We still have chickens and pigs and I really love vegetables so life is still good. I went to Kroger a couple of days ago and got about $40 worth of fresh produce. But what happens when that $40 becomes $80? There will be hard choices to make.

When I was a kid we always canned green beans and tomatoes. We always stored potatoes in some cool place but it was inevitable that sometime after the New Year they would become wrinkled and rubbery. That is something one can live with but we haven't for a while. We still can a lot of beans and tomatoes but we don't even have a good place to store potatoes.

Times are a-changing. Resources are stretched thinner, people are more abundant and the family farm is nearing extinction. The climate is changing, you can blame whatever you want but your stomach won't care. With water food can be grown, without water it can't. Doesn't it seem like a good idea to seek solutions before need and want set in or will our slavish obedience to the free market allow people to begin starving to decrease demand? We can already reclaim waste water to a drinkable purity. It may seem gross but running out of water is worse. I'm not even going to go on about global warming because the fact is that the associated costs are coming due with it or without it.

My Take is this. If lettuce goes to $3 a head I will have to make a hard decision. I'd rather not do that.