Further, per the same source, over twice as much water is applied to each acre of almonds and pistachios as each acre of melons, squash, and cucumbers.
What I've found so far for beef statistics doesn't make a lot of sense to me. For instance, California has the 4th largest cattle population in the U.S. (half of Texas' beef population), but is not in the top 10 beef producers. California is the top dairy producer, but it appears that only ~34% of the cattle population is dairy cattle. Further, it appears that chicken has been the meat of choice for the U.S. since the late 1990s.
Source: California Department of Water Resources http://www.water.ca.gov/landwateruse/anaglwu.cfm
Further, per the same source, over twice as much water is applied to each acre of almonds and pistachios as each acre of melons, squash, and cucumbers.
What I've found so far for beef statistics doesn't make a lot of sense to me. For instance, California has the 4th largest cattle population in the U.S. (half of Texas' beef population), but is not in the top 10 beef producers. California is the top dairy producer, but it appears that only ~34% of the cattle population is dairy cattle. Further, it appears that chicken has been the meat of choice for the U.S. since the late 1990s.
Source: National Cattlemen's Beef Association: http://www.beefusa.org/CMDocs/BeefUSA/Producer%20Ed/Directio...