The Current

California drought creates shaming around eating & farming almonds

If you're thinking of replacing dairy milk with almond milk in your diet or you stock up on almonds for a healthy snack, we have an update on whether almonds are really to blame for the California drought.
It takes 1 gallon of water to grow a single almond in California. (REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson )

Lately almonds have a new name in some circles, the devil's nut. 

Almond shaming is the latest way for those concerned about the extreme drought in California to point fingers at one of the largest consumers of water in that state.  That four litres of water to produce one almond is why the almond industry --  and anyone seen with an Almond Joy bar -- is on mock-trial.

Tom Philpott is the Food and Agriculture correspondent for Mother Jones magazine.  He has written extensively about almonds over the past year. Tom Philpott was in New York City.  

This segment was produced by Vancouver Network Producer Anne Penman. 
 

 Is the California-drought-inspired almond-eating backlash a sensible reaction or just plain nuts?

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