The Dark Side of Almond Use

California's groves supply 80 percent of the global almond harvest

Land in California dedicated to growing almonds

Value of California's annual almond harvest in US dollars

California farmers will reap a record 2.1 billion pounds of almonds this year as per USDA estimates

Each almond requires 1.1 gallons of water to produce

Cost in US dollars, of a single 2,500 ft bore well needed to supply water to the groves

In almond-intensive San Joaquin Valley, the ground has been sinking by an average of 11 inches per year, a 2013 US Geological Survey study found, due to over-pumping of aquifers

The industry requires 1.6 million bee colonies to pollinate its almond trees

25 percent of the beehives in almond groves suffered severe damage during the bloom, ranging from complete hive collapse to dead and deformed brood due to pesticides