Opinion: Saudi-owned Fondomonte grows alfalfa to feed cows overseas. That impacts our water supply, but not in the one-size-fits-all ways that many think.
Arizona Republic
The Saudis are using our groundwater to feed their cows, so why don’t we just cut them off?
A popular question, but it presumes that doing so would 1) be simple and 2) change our water outlook.
The answer is far more nuanced.
Aren’t the Saudis exporting our water?
Some folks argue that Saudi-owned Fondomonte is sending vast amounts of water overseas via the alfalfa they grow in-state.
But less than 10% of all alfalfa grown in Arizona is exported, according to a recent University of Arizona analysis.
And a greater share of that small silver goes to China, not to Saudi Arabia.
If we were to cut off Fondomonte’s exports, that wouldn’t change the state’s water outlook.
Because the majority of alfalfa grown in Arizona — and, by extension, the water used to grow it — already stays in state, eventually producing the milk and cheese we buy in local supermarkets.
