To save the Great Salt Lake, we cannot grow water-hungry crops

Malin Moench, a UPHE member and strong ally in many battles due to his strong legal background, had an excellent piece in the Deseret News. 

Moench cites two other regions we can look to for what we’re up against if we continue diverting water at this rate from the lake – Kazakhstan’s Aral Sea and California’s Lake Owen. Both regions faced drastically increased health issues while the lakes depleted. Owens lake is cited as the largest single source of air pollution in the United States. Great Salt Lake is 12 times larger. 

He practically states a solution, “Growing hay to feed livestock consumes 2/3 of the fresh water diverted from the Great Salt Lake, but contributes a paltry $0.2% to the State’s annual GDP. Why not save two years of our lives and protect several billion dollars of GDP by simply paying our farmers the difference between growing their own hay to feed their livestock and importing hay grown in regions where water is plentiful? The cost of such a program would be pennies on the dollar, even without counting the enormous benefits to public health.”

Utah farmers are crucial to our food supply, economy, and proud Western lifestyle. That’s exactly why we must support them in adapting to a more water-resilient future. We can have both the Great Salt Lake and sustainable agriculture—but only if we’re honest about where and how farming makes the most sense in a drying region. Right now, some of Utah’s most productive farmland is being paved over for development, while vast tracts of desert are kept green to grow export hay. Maybe one third of Utah hay is exported to foreign countries, including China and Saudi Arabia. Redirecting subsidies and support toward water-wise crops, regenerative practices, and preserving our best farmland from development can help keep farmers on the land, feed our communities, and save the lake. We must choose a future that protects both our farmers and our natural heritage.