re: #215 MsJ

California - yes the entire freaking state - is one of the most beautiful places on the planet. I have loved it from the first time I set foot there. It really pisses me off to see people disparage it for political bullshit.

I agree, it’s stupid to hate on California over politics. Not only that, Cali is a huge producer of many of the foods we eat every day (though many would have you believe all the food we depend on is grown in the heartland. Emphasis mine:

The C-Free Diet
If we didn’t have California, what would we eat?

Food scientists at Cornell University have produced a strain of broccoli that thrives in hot environments, which may make it possible for states with stiflingly hot summers to grow the vegetable. California, where cool coastal fog is perfect for growing standard broccoli, currently produces more than 90 percent of the broccoli grown in the United States. If California were to disappear, what would the American diet be like?

Expensive and grainy. California produces a sizable majority of many American fruits, vegetables, and nuts: 99 percent of artichokes, 99 percent of walnuts, 97 percent of kiwis, 97 percent of plums, 95 percent of celery, 95 percent of garlic, 89 percent of cauliflower, 71 percent of spinach, and 69 percent of carrots (and the list goes on and on). Some of this is due to climate and soil. No other state, or even a combination of states, can match California’s output per acre. Lemon yields in California, for example, are more than 50 percent higher than in Arizona. California spinach yield per acre is 60 percent higher than the national average. Without California, supply of all these products in the United States and abroad would dip, and in the first few years, a few might be nearly impossible to find. Orchard-based products in particular, such as nuts and some fruits, would take many years to spring back. […]

The loss of California’s output would create a dire situation for at least a decade. […]

http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/explainer/2013/07/california_grows_all_of_our_fruits_and_vegetables_what_would_we_eat_without.html

We should be thankful for California and its abundance, regardless of how we might feel about it’s politics or culture.