A US lawmaker from the state of Arizona has introduced legislation in Congress that would impose a 300 percent tax on the sale of water-intensive crops grown by foreign companies in the state, in a bid to curb the extensive use of water in the drought-stricken state.
Whatever reigns this shit in. I say this as a liberal stuck in a rural Arizona town who’s water is being stolen. About 10 years ago a farm popped up just outside of town and it now consumes most of the valley we live in. This farm pumps 10x the consumption of the entire city with a population of 80,000. Peoples wells are running dry and this dude pays nothing for this water.
This is the desert. Nothing is supposed to grow here. We probably shouldn’t even live here.
Fuck these guys, I don’t care where they are from. But if it takes xenophobia for the idiots in this state to vote on it, go ahead. If the crops are for local use, well, we did fine before they showed up. We didn’t need those farms. So they will go away. If the market for these stupid unethical crops isn’t propped up by foreign consumption they wouldn’t exist.
We’re farming in unsustainable ways all over the US. It really needs to be regulated. I drove through West Texas and New Mexico not long ago and just couldn’t believe the amount of farming going on. Surrounded by desert lush green fields of crops. They’re rapidly depleting the water table.
We grow thirsty inneficient crops we shouldnt. Often in deserts or areas under constant draught conditions. Water is too cheap for agricultural use. It needs to be more expensive to encourage more responsibility. As long as we continue to practice capitalism, it’s the only real answer.