<
https://theconversation.com/can-producers-keep-up-with-our-hunger-for-pistachios-288641>
"Pistachio production has more than trebled in the last 20 years. In 2024, more
than 1.4 million tonnes were produced globally. Their popularity has only
increased in the last two years, with a growing status as a trendy, luxury food
item.
However, this rise in popularity has come with concerns around the pistachio’s
environmental impacts. There are also questions around whether their production
can withstand changing climate conditions.
Pistachios originated in modern-day Turkey and Iran. Despite being considered a
nut, they are actually the seeds of pistachio trees. These trees thrive in a
hot summer climate but require relatively cold winter temperatures to ensure
the trees flower at the right time in spring. They also require dry conditions,
as high humidity can reduce yields and leave the trees susceptible to fungal
disease.
In the late 19th and early 20th century, pistachios were popularised in the US
by migrants from the Middle East. By the 1930s, pistachio orchards were
established in California. The warm, dry climate of California provided ideal
conditions for pistachio trees, so much so that the US has now overtaken Iran
and Turkey as the world’s largest producer of pistachios.
The estimated carbon footprint for pistachios is around 2.5kg of CO₂ equivalent
(kg CO₂e) per kg. That’s all the greenhouse gases resulting from growing,
processing and transporting pistachios, including methane and nitrous oxide,
rolled into the CO₂ equivalent of warming.
That puts their footprint around the same as avocados, at the higher end of
plant-based products. Part of the reason for their relatively large footprint
is the intensive nature of production and the amount of post-harvest processing
involved, such as drying, roasting, and sometimes shelling and salting.
However, their footprint is still lower than animal-based products like eggs
(4.6kgCO₂e per kg) and chicken (9.8kgCO₂e per kg), and much lower than beef
(85kgCO₂e per kg).
The larger concern from a sustainability standpoint, however, is the amount of
water used in pistachio production, especially as pistachios are predominantly
grown in areas susceptible to drought. Pistachios require over 7,600 litres of
irrigated water per kg according to one study published in 2020. That is more
than almost any other food source. Only beef and lamb are more water intensive,
but they generally consume mostly rainwater, which doesn’t deplete as much
groundwater as irrigation typically does."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
