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Apr 5, 2022

I'm excited to share my debut book, The Future of Food is Female, is out now! Feat CEOs, investors, scientists, & more, it's the first book focused on women leaders reinventing the food system. Grab your copy now! amazon.com/Future-Food-Fe #futureoffoodisfemale

It’s the thirstiest crop in the US south-west. Will the drought put alfalfa farmers out of business?

theguardian.com

Agriculture – mainly alfalfa – consumes 80% of the Colorado River’s dwindling water supply, prompting calls for conservation efforts. Read the other stories in our megadrought series

Despite what the news may showcase, it's not fruits & almonds causing the water shortage. The American beef and dairy lobby has been in full force with misinformation on this issue for years. But as the feds step in on the water crisis, the truth will reveal itself.

The data is clear: The American people are running out of water, because we are using it to feed cows. And most of those cows aren't even in this country! We are allowing other countries, like China & Saudi Arabia, to suck our resources dry for pennies.

Exporting the Colorado River to Asia, Through Hay

And what's even worse? Nearly a decade ago, scientists across the country warned about this. But, beef and dairy lobbyists fought hard, and in response, invented the "almonds cause the drought" campaign to deflect from the looming water catastrophe.

nationalgeographic.com

As the West suffers long-term drought, experts look for ways to save water while still supporting local farmers.

How do we save water: Stop growing alfalfa in Imperial County

"The top water-using activity in California is growing alfalfa....These are not the hardworking family farmers of yesteryear. They are giant agribusiness corporations pulling in $1.8 billion."

desertsun.com

Is the California desert the right place to grow alfalfa? It needs a considerable water to sustain this crop for a year.

And Saudi Arabia is not the only country cashing in on the Colorado River. Over in California, where more than 20% of the state's entire water footprint goes to pasture and alfalfa, more than 70% of alfalfa is exported to China & Japan.

Opinion | Arizona Is in a Race to the Bottom of Its Water Wells, With Saudi Arabia’s Help

And over in Arizona, where there is no limit to farmer's water usage, alfalfa has become a mega-industry. And the kicker: that water is not going to Arizona cows. Or even US cows. It's going 7,000 miles away to feed Saudi Arabian cows.

nytimes.com

Arizona lawmakers must reform the state’s groundwater laws before it’s too late.

In fact, more than 75% of all Utah cropland is growing alfalfa and hay to feed cattle. Two and a half hours of water usage in one single field of alfalfa is the same amount of water used by a family of four...for a year.

One crop uses more than half of Utah’s water. Here’s why.

Alfalfa, which is primarily used to feed cattle, uses two-thirds of the entire state of Utah's water.

sltrib.com

Alfalfa and other types of hay are by far Utah’s most valuable agricultural crop, worth nearly half a billion dollars last year. But that represents just 0.2% of the state’s gross domestic product —...

Over the past few decades, the US has become the world's biggest exporter of alfalfa. If you've never heard of alfalfa, it's because, with exception to occasional fancy salads in West Hollywood, humans don't really eat alfalfa. Cows do.

We're using too much water. Way, way too much water. Yes, 40 million people rely on the Colorado River for water, but that less than 20% of water used is going towards residential usage. Instead, we're using the water in other ways... 🐮

There are two key points: 1. The historic megadrought of the past few decades has created less water. This has strained the system. But the second point is far more insidious...

Not all states have equal rights. As the largest state on the river, some of the legal framework allows for prioritization of water rights to California, should there be a shortage. There is now a shortage. So, how did we get here?

The upper basin states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, & New Mexico) mostly get their water from rivers and some of the snow from the mountains. The lower basin states (Nevada, Arizona, & California) collect their water in reservoirs.

The history: The Colorado River supplies water to seven states (Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada Arizona, & California), with historic water rights usage entrenched in law for over 100 yrs. The laws also provide some water rights to Mexico.

This week, seven states situated upon the Colorado River have failed to come to agreement, after the

@POTUS

administration ordered them to develop a water usage cutback plan due to dwindled water levels. Let's take a look at what's going on...

💧 For the first time in history, the US has entered a WATER war and the media refuses to cover the true cause: cows. A must-read on the water crisis. 🧵👇🏼

104

Toronto Metropolitan University Alumni

Retweeted

@alumnitmu

Jan 25

Women are at the forefront of changing our food systems. 🌎 On March 29,

Food+Tech Connect and 9 others

(

@trsmtorontomet

'13) joins Book Talk to discuss her book, The Future of Food Is Female, with

@marciawoods

, CEO and cofounder of

@freshspoke

. RSVP: ow.ly/o1Yz50MwCqr | #alwaysalumni

Image of the cover of the book, The Future of Food Is Female, by Jennifer Stojkovic, promoting her Book Talk event on Wednesdsay March 29 at 12:30pm.

read image description

ALT

Can’t wait

Y’all this is gonna be 🔥

Vegan Women Summit and 9 others

Jenn Stojkovic talks about meat sustainability on Studio 22 Podcast.

techcrunch-com.cdn.ampproject.org

#podcast #Sustainability

This fish is made 100% from plants. Would you eat it? 🌱

And one last reason I backed

@Chris_Bryson

and the team? He’s building the company in my hometown of Toronto. 🇨🇦 Excited to put Canada on the map in a BIG way for the future of food! 🙌🏼

Plus, Israeli-based

(plant-based, pictured below ft.

cameo)

Other folks in the space include:

@wildtypefoods

(cultivated salmon, pictured below)

New School’s first product is a plant-based filet that looks, cooks, tastes and flakes like wild salmon. They’ve created a proprietary muscle fiber and scaffolding platform for making whole-cuts with the same colors, flavors, fats, texture and mouthfeel of traditional fish. 🍣

Fish has a distinctive smell, taste, flakiness, and texture. Most plant-based competitors currently use heat in the production process, which affects the product that consumers bring home — not quite a raw fish, is it?

Consumers are looking at the ingredients, too. This is largely due to the PR campaign against plant-based meats. So, how is fish different? 🐟

Plant-based seafood is a vast white space with few companies focusing on fish fillets. The category provides a huge challenge bc fish are seen as a health food. It’s not enough to just taste good…

Congratulations

on the $13M raise to create realistic, whole cut seafood — with plants! Here’s why I’m excited about the future of seafood. 🧵👇🏼

New School Foods’ filet looks and tastes like salmon, but it's actually plants

New School Foods created a proprietary muscle fiber and scaffolding platform for making whole-cut salmon alternatives.

💀💀💀

Quote Tweet

Tabitha Brown

@IamTabithaBrown

Feb 2

Dear Lord, I get the whole Eve, apples and periods… but who or what caused the random peeing if i cough, sneeze or laugh too hard…. I mean it’s getting out of hand

Feb 2

My new fave hobby is showing people chat GPT for the first time

Toronto Metropolitan University Alumni

Retweeted

@alumnitmu

Feb 1

We're excited to have

join us in March to discuss her book: The Future of Food is Female (RSVP: ow.ly/o1Yz50MwCqr ) She's looking for women-led food founders for a panel at

@sxsw

! Do you know anyone? #foodtech #SXSW

Quote Tweet

Feb 1

Looking for women-led food founders for a panel during #sxsw. Please share and DM.