Editing Almond (section)

=== Sustainability ===
Almond production in California is concentrated mainly in the [[Central Valley (California)|Central Valley]],<ref name="bi">{{Cite news|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/amount-of-water-needed-to-grow-one-almond-orange-tomato-2015-4|title=Chart shows how some of your favorite foods could be making California's drought worse|date=8 April 2015|author1=Brodwin E |author2=Lee S|work=Business Insider|access-date=17 April 2017|language=en}}</ref> where the mild climate, rich soil, abundant sunshine and water supply make for ideal growing conditions. Due to the [[Droughts in California|persistent droughts in California]] in the early 21st century, it became more difficult to raise almonds in a sustainable manner.<ref name="npr">{{cite web |author1=Richard Gonzalez |title=How Almonds Became A Scapegoat For California's Drought |url=https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/04/16/399958203/how-almonds-became-a-scapegoat-for-californias-drought |publisher=US National Public Radio |access-date=16 April 2019 |date=16 April 2015}}</ref><ref name="bloom">{{cite news |author1=Alan Bjerga |author2=Donna Cohen |author3=Cindy Hoffman |title=California Almonds Are Back After Four Years of Brutal Drought |newspaper=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2018-thirst-for-almonds/ |publisher=Bloomberg |access-date=16 April 2019}}</ref> The issue is complex because of the high amount of water needed to produce almonds: a single almond requires roughly {{convert|1.1|usgal|impgal l|abbr=off}} of water to grow properly.<ref name=bi/><ref name=npr/><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Mekonnen|first1=M. M.|last2=Hoekstra|first2=A. Y.|title=The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products|url=https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/15/1577/2011/hess-15-1577-2011.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=2021-06-19|website=Copernicus|publisher=Twente Water Centre, University of Twente|publication-place=Enschede, The Netherlands|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210123145145/https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/15/1577/2011/hess-15-1577-2011.pdf|archive-date=23 January 2021}}</ref> Regulations related to water supplies are changing so some growers have destroyed their current almond orchards to replace with either younger trees or a different crop such as [[pistachio]] that needs less water.<ref name="AtlasObscura2021">{{cite web |title=Why Are Almond Growers Uprooting Their Orchards? |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/uprooting-almond-orchard |website=Atlas Obscura |date=2 July 2021 |access-date=3 July 2021}}</ref>
[[File:Almond tree in blossom (Israel).jpg|thumb|Almond tree with blossoming flowers, [[Valley of Elah]], Israel]]
Sustainability strategies implemented by the [[Almond Board of California]] and almond farmers include:<ref name=bloom/><ref name="abc2018">{{cite web |title=Annual report: Growing Good – Almond Sustainability 2018 |url=https://newsroom.almonds.com/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Growing%20Good%202018.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://newsroom.almonds.com/sites/default/files/pdf_file/Growing%20Good%202018.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |publisher=Almond Board of California |access-date=16 April 2019 |date=2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Almond industry forerunner of future farm practices, sustainability program internationally recognized |url=https://www.farmprogress.com/tree-nuts/almond-industry-forerunner-future-farm-practices-sustainability-program-internationally |publisher=Western FarmPress |access-date=16 April 2019 |date=6 March 2018}}</ref>
* tree and [[soil health]], and other farming practices
* minimizing dust production during the harvest
* [[bee]] health
* [[irrigation]] guidelines for farmers
* food safety
* use of waste [[biomass]] as coproducts with a goal to achieve [[zero waste]]
* use of [[solar energy]] during processing
* job development
* support of [[scientific research]] to investigate potential health benefits of consuming almonds
* international education about sustainability practices