Super Bowl Sunday Highlights Need To Turn On The Pumps

Did you have guacamole last Sunday? Do you know where it came from? Super Bowl Sunday accounts for 3% of our nation's avocado consumption. According to the California Avocado Commission, 80 million pounds of avocados were scooped on to chips during the Big Game. How much guacamole is that? If spread out across a football field, it would measure 11.8 feet deep.  Not bad for a tradition that dates back about a quarter century, when the California Avocado Commission began promoting guacamole as a Super Bowl staple, turning it into an All American Favorite as Super Bowl Fare. But not this year.

This past week usually would have been the week California avocados hit the market. But because avocado growers can't get the water they need from the Sacramento-San Joaquin delta, most avocados didn't mature in time.  So, where did the avocados in the supermarket come from? 16 million pounds did come from California growers. But last month 42 million pounds were imported from Chile and another whopping 65 million pounds from Mexico. You do the math. Your All American Favorite probably wasn't All that American.

You don't have to be an economics major to figure out that in our struggling economy the above numbers aren't good. And that's just avocados. Stop to consider this: 90% of canned tomatoes, almonds and pistachios consumed in the United States are produced in the San Joaquin Valley. Continuing policy that values fish over farmers and families will have devastating effects on food prices. But wait, there's more. UC Davis economists estimate that as many as 60,000 California Central Valley jobs could be lost this year. Farming communities like Mendota are already experiencing summer unemployment of 40%. Congress might like to address that in their new jobs bill. 

But, really, they don't have to. They already have an alternative. Rep. Devin Nunes has introduced a "Turn On The Pumps Act", (H.R. 3105). It is patterned after legislation passed in 2003 when New Mexico was experiencing water shortages because of the Endangered Species Act. All they have to do is pass it. From The Nunes Blog:

Over the past several years, we have witnessed the hypocrisy of Congressional leaders, including the Speaker, California’s senators and other senior Democrats, who supported the 2003 New Mexico language but refuse to do the same for their own constituents. The discharge petition I am circulating will highlight our supporters and expose our opponents. It will clearly show who in the House favors fish over families.

To see Nunes' entire blog click here. In a follow-up blog that is well worth reading Nunes reports that Democratic leadership is still neglecting their constituents and the economic well-being of the nation. But smelt in the delta can take heart. Pelosi and her minions are planning to make it possible to use stimulus money for fish screens. (I had to read that several times to make sure I got it right.)

It takes an estimated 222,792 football fields worth of farmland to produce the corn, potatoes, and avocados required for the 8 million pounds of popcorn, 28 million pounds of potato chips and 80 million pounds of guacamole consumed Super Bowl Sunday. If the pumps aren't turned on 500,000 acres of farmland won't be used for production or will have diminished yields. If that's the case many All American foods won't be All American anymore.

Super Bowl Sunday Highlights Need To Turn On The Pumps