Change.org: Farming Turns Toxic
Change.org, Tara Lohan
Published October 25, 2010
California is well touted as an agricultural capital of our country. The state's 81,000 farms and ranches pull in approximately $36 billion a year. But some of that farming comes at an environmental and economic cost — one that's getting dangerously high in some places.
While pictures may make farming in California seem idyllic — with warm, sunny days and fertile, green fields — the truth is that in some parts of the state, agriculture has only been accomplished by irrigating the heck out of desert. Literally. A new report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG), "Throwing Good Money at Bad Land," shows that farming in areas like the Westlands water district in the California Central Valley is doing more harm than good.