Water Shortages in Southland

I read with interest your editorial. What is overlooked in all the talk of rationing and conservation is the role of food choice in overall water usage. It takes an average of 2,500 gallons of water to produce a 1-pound serving of meat, according to a report to the American Assn. of Science in 1981. This is equivalent to an average family’s entire monthly usage. Without government supplied (and taxpayer funded) water subsidies to livestock producers, hamburger would cost well over $30 per pound. This information, and more that is equally startling, has recently been publicized in the book “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins.

As citizens of planet Earth, knowledge is our most important tool for survival. Only by changing past patterns of failure can we hope to have a future.

STEVEN BAIRD

Pasadena