Friday Food Facts

Who uses water? We all do. Yes, agriculture uses a lot of water. But, there’s a lot of water in the food we eat and it takes water to grow our food. Arizona agriculture grows for all of us.

Food Fact Friday

Arizona agriculture is beautiful, just beautiful. It’s local, global, organic and traditional. It’s fruits and vegetables, grains, cotton, beef, lamb, nursery plants, dairy, wine grapes and much more. Arizona agriculture is 23.3 billion dollars worth of beautiful. (Photo by Jonathan Dinsmore, a Yuma farmer.)

Nearly a third of Agriculture’s crops need the honey bees for pollination. That’s why farmers work to protect the honey bee. And so can you. Since they love flowers, grow a native pollinator garden for them.

Arizona agriculture’s $23.3 billion industry grows the “Med Diet in the Desert.” Everything from fruits and vegetables, nuts, and a variety of healthy meat protein including beef. We even raise fish in Arizona. All fitting into the world’s healthiest diet, the Mediterranean diet.

Everyday pesticide uses such as chlorine in drinking water and disinfectants in hospitals keep you and me safe. Even insect repellent is a pesticide. Pesticide use in agriculture is the same. It’s meant to protect.  Arizona agriculture’s pesticide footprint is small. The most often used tool to battle pests is mechanical. (Photo provided by Yuma Farmer Jonathan Dinsmore.)