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Comment by gumby | Hacker News Reader

You merely have to spend a brief time in California's Central Valley to realize that it's an extractive industry (consuming topsoil, water from a non-renewable aquifer, and oil) no different from mining. When you see orchards plowed up for replanting not only the old trees are removed but all the topsoil too.

Robots are our only hope.

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> not only the old trees are removed but all the topsoil too

Not sure what you mean by this. In the past old trees were burned on the spot; today they are chipped and the chips taken for use as mulch or other things. Neither process involves removing topsoil.

Removing acres of topsoil would be insanely expensive too!

Source: almond farmers I have worked with (and have seen this procedure done). I have also seen it at a stone fruit orchard on Highway 4.

Tobe fair I do not know the practice in other regions / other crops.

We just need to grow things in sensible places with better water resources. There is plenty of unused land in the US to do that.

Most of places don't have suitable climates for the type of crops grown in CA though. It's a very special place.

On the other hand you could fill an office full of programmers in North Dakota.

Which is why in a sense it's a travesty that commodity crops are grown in CA with scarce water.

The nondesert part of CA ha plenty of water. but people insist on living in the desert.

If you like to eat fruit and vegetables in the winter then you need to thank California. It has 6 growing seasons feeding a lot of the USA all year around with fresh produce.

It is the breadbasket of North America.

California has lots of water resources. Just a little bit better management and all those orchards can get watered. Nuts are high value in dollars, nutrition, and taste. We need something the Chinese want to trade for iPhones.

California could make iPhones.

Really? It's a labor intensive process despite the level of automation (5 years ago there were at least manual steps; don't know today). More importantly: IIRC Apple makes about $150 in profit per phone while Foxconn makes under $5/unit. Seems like the cost differential would be much more than $5/unit.

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