Yet another domino is falling in the cascade to food shortages.
Amid the current megadrought being experienced in the American Southwest and elsewhere, vital reservoirs serving those states are draining quickly. So quickly, in fact, that the federal government is now reducing rations to states served by these reservoirs which are fed by the Colorado River.
The Colorado River’s two largest reservoirs, Lake Mead and Lake Powell, have reduced so much that the feds are reducing the amount of water the states of Nevada and Arizona are allowed to take from them.
Nevada to the tune of an 8% reduction in water deliveries (don’t drink from the Bellagio fountain – it may look clean, but it’s probably not drinkable) and Arizona will see a stunning 21% reduction in water deliveries in 2023.
The good news, however, is that if Nevada and Arizona are known for anything, it’s for having a lot of water.
Oh wait.
While neither are necessarily agricultural powerhouses, Arizona in particular is responsible for producing 90% of the leafy greens produced in the US between November and March.
It is also unknown how this will affect farmers’ ability to water their cattle, which are already having to be slaughtered early by farmers across the Southwest due to the megadrought. Further drastic cuts to existing water supplies is not good news for the thin remaining herds.
In addition, Mexico is also facing a 7% reduction in its share of water deliveries. Mexico, on the other hand, is an agricultural powerhouse, one which the United States relies upon for large amounts of produce.
For more info on the water cuts, click here.
Among many, the water issue is one to watch as an indicator of where things are heading in terms of food scarcity.
As an example, back before the pandemic started, I made a prediction that turned out to be true, although it was an easy one that many others probably made as well. It went like this: once sports started cancelling games and Vegas closed the buffets, everyone would get off the fence and it would be all systems go on the pandemic response.
Well, with these cuts to water in the Southwest, we can look to Vegas again to make another easy prediction: once they turn off the water features on the Strip, you better hope you had stocked up on food and water already.
So if the fountains at the Bellagio are still running, perhaps you should be running also.
To the grocery store.