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Julian A Nowogrodzki

@plantnerd.bsky.social
3.4K followers 1.2K following 219 posts

Science editor at @sentientmedia.org covering the intersection of food and climate Words in Nature, NYTimes, MIT Tech Review & more They/them JulianN.88 on Signal

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Reposted by Julian A Nowogrodzki
Claire G. Griffin @polargriffin.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Local stream restoration projects and all the people working on them are what give me hope in this day and age. Locally, we have people doing dam removals, large wood installations, culvert replacements. There are a lot of people, from all walks of life, who are working to help streams and rivers!
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Data are made, not found! Nerding out about the census! Harvard Bookstore, Boston, etc!
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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
From @timnitgebru.blacksky.app and me on what we should take from the 2026 summer of AI hype: www.technologyreview.com/2026/09/22/1...
technologyreview.com
Don’t be fooled by this summer of AI hype
Breathless claims about AGI and new capabilities fall apart pretty quickly under scrutiny.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
For the last year, @sentientmedia.org has been working hard to map every factory farm in Iowa, and now we're proud to release the data for free. Here's why that's important -- and why it may be a warning flare for crises brewing in other states sentientmedia.org/five-takeawa...
sentientmedia.org
We Mapped All 11,000 Factory Farms in Iowa. Here Are Five Things We Learned.
Here’s what the data reveal about the country’s factory farm hotbed.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Really important story by @juliametraux.bsky.social about Meta using disabled people to promote its AI glasses:
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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 04/09/2026
Exciting news! 📢 Sentient is thrilled to announce the Food and Farming Storytelling Fund. To support storytellers covering food and agriculture, we will distribute $360,000 in direct grants over the next two years. Learn more ➡️ buff.ly/ouzaPdk
Introducing

Food and Farming Storytelling Fund

Investing $360,000 into the storytellers tackling factory farming

Learn more at sentientmedia.org
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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 15/09/2026
AI is coming to factory farms. Will the animals benefit, or just the industry?
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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
An ICE agent directed Emilio, a Venezuelan Deaf man, to get onto a bus. He asked for an interpreter and didn’t get one. When he saw a Mexican flag, he realized he was being deported to Mexico, sans passport. My latest for @motherjones.com. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
How Trump’s deportation machine deprives Deaf people of their humanity
An extra layer of cruelty is added by limiting communication access for Deaf people.
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Dan Lamothe @danlamothe.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
SCOOP: People on the airport catering truck used to secretly move President Trump off an Air Force One 747 in Turkey included: - Dan Scavino - Walt Nauta - Natalie Harp No Cabinet-level officials were on that truck. wapo.st/3S47ztG
wapo.st
Close Trump aides — but no Cabinet officials — made secret catering truck move
The president was accompanied by some of his most loyal aides but no top administration officials as he made the clandestine move to a different plane to leave Turkey last month.
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Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
I need to change the way I use this platform so it's not just a shotgun blast to the face everyday of rage and despair. One idea I had is to create more Lists — I'm building one of worker-owned newsrooms, who should I add? Already have @racketmn.com @hellgatenyc.com @weareravenous.com @defector.com
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Jessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 07/05/2026
👋Hi! I’m Jessica Lussenhop, and for the last 4 years, I served as ProPublica’s first Minnesota-based reporter. But now I’ve got big news: On May 14, ProPublica is launching a brand new podcast! It’s called “Paper Trail,” and I’ll be your host. Thread 🧵
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
On chicken and poultry farms: “They’re running an evolution experiment on a massive scale and the bacteria are winning.” sentientmedia.org/factory-farm...
sentientmedia.org
How Factory Farms Supercharge Harmful Bacteria
The rapid growth of chickens — now, 31 billion globally — has sped up pathogen evolution, boosting persistence, antibiotic resistance and spillover to humans.
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
Internal documents explicitly state: “Policymakers are not considered a stakeholder group within the scope of NIH’s mission”. Staff members report these policy-focused applications face unprecedented scrutiny from political appointees at both the NIH and HHS. They want the word "policy" removed.
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
NEW: The NIH is quietly restricting funding for research that evaluates how public policy impacts human health. According to internal documents I obtained, the agency no longer considers policymakers "mission relevant" — a massive shift for the biomedical funder. My latest for @nature.com:
nature.com
NIH limits funding for research on the health effects of public policy
US biomedical agency no longer considers policymakers as ‘mission relevant’, leaving dozens of grants in limbo.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 11/08/2026
How did water use come to be such a flashpoint in AI discourse? And what else uses massive amounts of water that we're not talking about? sentientmedia.org/chatgpts-wat...
sentientmedia.org
Everyone’s Talking About ChatGPT’s Water Use. Almost No One’s Talking About What Uses More.
If you’re looking to reduce your water impact, eating less meat is a great place to start.
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Austin Frerick @austinfrerick.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
The Trump Administration gave the Egg Mafia a slap on the wrist after it was caught price gouging. “This settlement [is so low that it] might actually encourage more criminal activity,” argues Frerick.
sentientmedia.org
The Nation’s ‘Egg Mafia’ Made Billions. Their Fines Over Price Fixing Are a Drop in the Bucket.
Egg companies that received hundreds of millions of dollars in bird flu payments are ordered to settle for a fraction of the price.
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Austin Frerick @austinfrerick.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
“Most people are struggling,” says Frerick. “If they actually knew the state of how pigs are raised, they’d feel bad, but they just want bacon. What really matters to them is that they can’t enjoy the lake. This is how the system impacts them.”
sentientmedia.org
How Denmark’s ‘Pig Election’ Rewrote Factory Farm Politics
Could animal welfare and clean water motivate American voters?
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Reposted by Julian A Nowogrodzki
bioGraphic @biographic.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
Last week the bioGraphic team learned that, owing to an ongoing financial deficit, the California Academy of Sciences—where we’ve made our home for the past decade—will no longer be able to provide us with financial support, including support we were expecting this year.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
Many Iowans are personally affected by the state's rising and anomalous cancer rates. The cancer rate is linked to nitrate pollution (from manure/fertilizer), pesticides, PFAS and radon, a new report finds: @ninaelkadi.com @sentientmedia.org
sentientmedia.org
Iowa’s High Cancer Rate Linked to Nitrate, Pesticides, PFAS and Radon, New Report Finds
The new analysis combines science on environmental risk factors with the lived experiences of Iowans battling cancer.
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Reposted by Julian A Nowogrodzki
Robert Hirschfeld @rfhirschfeld.bsky.social · 20/02/2026
I don't think anyone is doing better journalism on Midwest agriculture than @ninaelkadi.com. Her latest, on biodigesters: sold as “climate-smart,” but subsidize factory farm expansion, pollute rural water, and address only ~11% of ag emissions. cornbeltconfidential.substack.com/p/digesters-...
cornbeltconfidential.substack.com
Digesters Were Sold as a Climate Fix. Now the USDA Is Hitting Pause.
A 90-day pause due to “loan delinquency” may signal that the viability of anaerobic digesters is being scrutinized at the federal level.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 16/03/2026
In California: 10 million tons of manure unaccounted for - One farm reported producing <1% the manure expected given how many cows it has - One in Santa Ana has 570 dairy cows and reported -- wait for it -- no manure at all @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/ten-million-...
sentientmedia.org
Ten Million Tons of Manure In California Are Unaccounted for, New Report Shows
Stanford researchers found serious loopholes in factory farm regulation — and it’s not just in California.
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Grey Moran @greymoran.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
Salvadorans with TPS status have the right to work in the U.S. Yet they were told by Tyson Foods that they'd need to leave the company by March 9th, unless they presented work permits that many applied for a year ago but have yet to receive sentientmedia.org/work-permit-...
sentientmedia.org
‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays
Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.
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Longtail News @longtail-news.bsky.social · 07/03/2026
Feed: "Sentient" By: Grey Moran on Friday, March 6, 2026
sentientmedia.org
‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays
Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 06/03/2026
"They followed all the rules." Salvadoran workers at Tyson's chicken processing plants in Arkansas have a legal right to work in the US. But Tyson is still leaving many workers in limbo. @greymoran.bsky.social reports: sentientmedia.org/work-permit-...
sentientmedia.org
‘You Feel Like You’re Marked’: Salvadoran Workers at Tyson Foods Face Risks Due to Work Permit Delays
Longtime poultry plant workers are left uncertain and fearing job loss amid Tyson Foods’ confusion over immigrant Temporary Protected Status — despite their legal right to work.
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James Stout @jamesstout.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
Hard to convey how much you can tangibly feel the love and care for one another people are showing here in Minneapolis. Even in the few days we’ve been here more businesses have come on board with the strike and we've met people from every walk of like doing the work to keep each other safe.
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Margaret Killjoy @margaret.bsky.social · 23/01/2026
I've talked to people on the ground about the strike here tomorrow, and the single thing everyone brings up is just how shockingly wide the support for the strike is. Businesses that no one would have expected to support it are doing so.
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Thomas Leeper @thosjleeper.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
National media should really be covering the fact thay every major school, museum, and arts institution in the Twin Cities, and hundreds of local businesses are closed tomorrow to protest federal occupation. Nothing like this at this scale has happened anywhere in America anytime in living memory.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Margaret Killjoy is now reporting from Minneapolis, and if you find yourself doomscrolling, I highly recommend just reading her newsletter instead, it has 1000x more vitality, clarity, solidarity: margaretkilljoy.substack.com/subscribe
margaretkilljoy.substack.com
Subscribe to Birds Before the Storm
Individual and community preparedness. Memoirs of an anarchist life. Reflections on history. Click to read Birds Before the Storm, by Margaret Killjoy, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of...
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 16/01/2026
Trump slashed H-2A farmworkers' wages roughly in half, in what's been called "one of the largest wealth transfers from workers to employers in US agricultural history." The H-2A visa program was already prone to exploitation. The dairy and meat industries want in. @greymoran.bsky.social reports:
sentientmedia.org
Dairy and Meat Industries Push for Access to H-2A Farmworkers While the Trump Administration Slashes Their Pay
The H-2A visa program, which recruits farm laborers largely from Mexico, has been likened to indentured servitude. The dairy and meat industries want in.
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Molly White @molly.wiki · 15/01/2026
Sure. AI companies have ALWAYS been training their models on Wikipedia content, which under the free and open access model is available to anyone — including AI companies. Agreements like these require AI companies to limit and offset the strain they place on Wikimedia infrastructure.
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Ben Maas @masbenmaas.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Long time followers are familiar with the environmental issues of CAFOs. This is a great example "manifesting is a process whereby large factory farms transfer their manure to smaller farms that aren’t subject to manure disposal regulations... sometimes the smaller farms are owned by the CAFO."
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
On paper, factory farms can make manure pollution legally invisible. This little-known loophole is called "manifesting" and it's part of why 70% of CAFOs in the US don't have discharge permits: @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/trick-lettin...
sentientmedia.org
The Paperwork Trick Letting Factory Farms Pollute With Impunity
The practice called ‘manifesting’ lets CAFOs make manure pollution legally invisible and evade liability.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
RFK Jr.'s new dietary guidelines: living in the upside down @sentientmedia.org sentientmedia.org/rfk-jr-new-d...
sentientmedia.org
RFK Jr.’s New Dietary Guidelines Are Out, and They’re Full of Red Meat
New guidelines say they want to “end the war on protein” and tout full-fat dairy.
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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 08/01/2026
People tend to eat less meat and animal products, such as beef, pork, seafood and eggs, as well as fewer processed foods, when taking GLP-1 drugs for weight loss, according to new research. @byng.bsky.social reports:
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GLP-1 Users Lose Weight, and Their Taste for Meat
People taking blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy report eating less meat, dairy and processed foods. These shifts could reshape the food system.
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Virginia Gewin @virginiagewin.bsky.social · 04/11/2025
"Science is being destroyed across many agencies" say federal researchers. For my latest @nature.com piece, I spoke to 19 different scientists across EPA, NOAA, NIH, NASA, and USGS to document how science is being dismantled across US federal agencies.
nature.com
Dismantling of US federal agencies will ‘destroy science’
From NASA to the National Institutes of Health, federal agencies conduct research that universities cannot. Agency scientists speak out about the irreplaceable facilities, institutional knowledge and ...
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Virginia Gewin @virginiagewin.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Scientists: have you been the target of an online harassment campaign, doxxing, or weaponized FOIA requests? I'd like to talk to you about steps you had to take to protect your digital security for an upcoming Nature story. (You can be anonymous if necessary.) RTs appreciated.
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Floodlight @floodlightnews.org · 25/11/2025
When the 43-day shutdown halted SNAP benefits for millions, the demand for emergency food in New York surged. This 40-year-old organization stepped up — rescuing surplus food that would have gone to waste and expanding distributions to fill the gap. NEW in Floodlight and @SentientMedia.Org:
floodlightnews.org
How New York City’s largest food rescue organization stepped up during the SNAP crisis
City Harvest’s food rescue efforts are a win for both climate and food insecurity
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Yikes! Less than 20%?!
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Why is there soy in everything from meatballs to chicken nuggets to froot loops? sentientmedia.org/why-is-soy-i... from @jesslsr.bsky.social
sentientmedia.org
Why Is There Soy in Practically Everything?
If you’re avoiding tofu and soy milk, you’re still probably eating more soy than you think.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 19/11/2025
Michigan’s new water pollution regulations targeting factory farms are 5 years old. Why are they only being enforced now? a primer on industry's delaying tactics by Seth Millstein @sentientmedia.org: sentientmedia.org/michigans-ne...
sentientmedia.org
Michigan’s New Tougher Limits on Factory Farm Waste Are a Long Time Coming
The water pollution regulations were issued five years ago. Why are they only being enforced now?
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Julia Métraux @juliametraux.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
This is a great obit, and I appreciated Alice’s fight for Palestinians in Gaza being highlighted. I also want to give a shout out to Miles for asking permission to cite my post when technically you don’t have to do that re media law but still an ethical thing to do.
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Grey Moran @greymoran.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
Full article on Tyson's use of Palantir's surveillance tech here: sentientmedia.org/tyson-foods-...
sentientmedia.org
How America’s Largest Meat Company Leverages Palantir's Surveillance Tech
Palantir’s controversial software platform is capable of integrating vast amounts of data — but at what risk?
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Grey Moran @greymoran.bsky.social · 13/11/2025
During the height of the pandemic, Tyson used Palantir to predict Covid-19 infections among meatpacking workers down to a nearly exactly figure. But rather than using this data to increase worker protections, Tyson used it plan for labor shortages + plant closures My latest for @sentientmedia.org
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The Xylom @thexylom.com · 12/11/2025
Most buyers sourcing squid from Chinese vessels accused of crew abuse and deaths are based in North America — nearly half in the U.S. and one-third in Canada, according to a September report by the London-based nonprofit @ejfoundation.org. (via @gaeacabico.bsky.social for @sentientmedia.org)
thexylom.com
Your Squid May Be Harvested By Chinese Vessels With Forced Labor
Officers on fishing vessels often subject workers to physical violence, intimidation and fraud. Most of the crew members interviewed by the Environmental Justice Foundation reported being trapped in…
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 05/11/2025
Sentient is hiring an audience manager with newsroom experience! This is a newly created position. @sentientmedia.org is a nonprofit news outlet covering factory farms, food, and climate. Happy to answer questions. sentientmedia.zohorecruit.com/jobs/Careers...
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Lex McMenamin (they/them) @lexmcmenamin.com · 03/11/2025
I was laid off from Teen Vogue today along with multiple other staffers, and today is my last day. certainly more to come from me when the dust has settled more, but to my knowledge, after today, there will be no politics staffers at Teen Vogue.
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Julian A Nowogrodzki @plantnerd.bsky.social · 01/11/2025
BREAKING: A deleted plan from the USDA website suggests the Trump administration had intended to release contingency funds to keep SNAP running during a government shutdown @greymoran.bsky.social has the story sentientmedia.org/usda-deletes...
sentientmedia.org
USDA Deletes SNAP Emergency Funding Plan From Its Website
The Trump administration’s USDA is refusing to release around $6 billion in contingency funds designated for a lapse in SNAP benefits.
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Sentient @sentientmedia.org · 31/10/2025
BREAKING: In an unprecedented move, the Trump administration’s USDA is refusing to release around $6 billion in contingency funds designated for a lapse in SNAP benefits. @greymoran.bsky.social reports: buff.ly/tlC9gRP
sentientmedia.org
USDA Deletes SNAP Emergency Funding Plan From Its Website
The Trump administration’s USDA is refusing to release around $6 billion in contingency funds designated for a lapse in SNAP benefits.
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Matt Davenport @mrmattdavenport.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
The transportation piece is super interesting, too, and I probably didn't do it justice with the release. Fortunately, though, Sophie Kevany did an excellent job for @sentientmedia.org. sentientmedia.org/meat-consump...
A text excerpt reads: The study also finds that emissions from transportation are a small fraction of overall livestock emissions, as has been shown in other research. For consumers eager to make a dent in their own climate emissions from what they eat, that means that eating locally, while appealing, does not in fact have much impact on emissions.

“Food miles and related emissions are largely a myth,” Goldstein writes to Sentient. “Emissions from transporting food account for around 10% of total emissions related to producing and distributing food products to retail.” By and large, he adds, “most emissions occur during production, especially in the case of meat which requires lots of feed and generates lots of on-site emissions” that come mainly from enteric fermentation, primarily cattle burps, and the manure lagoons used to hold animals’ urine and feces.
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Jason Dove Mark @jasondovemark.bsky.social · 15/10/2025
As an AZ native, I've known this for years. And still. The madness never ceases to shock "In Arizona, 76 percent of water use goes toward agriculture. Mature alfalfa (hay) is largely used to feed cattle, and in Arizona, alfalfa is a commonly planted thirsty crop." sentientmedia.org/arizona-dese...
sentientmedia.org
In the Arizona Desert, Where Your Neighbor Is an Alfalfa Farm
Water resource “hedge funds” and corporate farms are running the desert dry.
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