Beef production is draining rivers at an unsustainable rate
American beef production may be draining the Colorado River at a faster rate than it can be replenished, according to a new study that links water use to the production of cattle feed. In the western United States, a third of consumed water goes toward growing alfalfa and corn to feed cows, the source of beef and dairy for eaters. That number rises to 50 percent in the Colorado River basin, where drought has become an increasingly urgent concern. So what’s the solution? Scientists suggest paying farmers to farm less, as a way to economically incentivize conservation. Modern Farmer has the story.
