Water and Our Food System

Original articles from Spring 2015:
Caring for Wisconsin's Cold Waters by Jessica Luhning
The Water Behind Your Meat and Potatoes by Tamara Dean
A Farming Resurrection: Aquaponics in Wisconsin by Jeremiah Robinson

Then: About the Cover

Photographer Jim Klousia captured the Water Issue cover image by pouring a dyed glycerin solution into a nano fish tank and then inverting the photograph. Of the 874 high-speed images shot (the most for any Edible Madison cover), number 779 best reflected the intended symbolism of evaporation. It expresses a message about our responsibility to conserve and protect one of our most important and fragile natural resources before it slips away.

Now

The three articles in this water-themed issue addressed three very different aspects of water usage in Wisconsin five years ago, and their information and messages are still relevant today.

Although aquaponics was developed by the Aztecs long before colonization, it’s still considered an emerging industry. Water-based farming has great potential to produce large volumes of food in much less space; however, it requires a lot of energy, and recently there have been debates around whether it should be eligible for organic certification when it doesn’t use soil.

According to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, “fishing generates $2.3 billion economic impact” in the state, and a large portion of that money and labor goes back into conserving our waterways. However, many of our valuable Class 1 trout streams continue to be threatened by suburban and industry encroachment and loosening environmental oversight.

The literal “meat and potatoes” of the issue was a heavily researched article that called attention to not only the staggering quantity of water that goes into raising our food, but also the steps conscientious farmers are taking to reduce their water usage. Grazing, in particular, can greatly reduce water usage while absorbing rainfall better than hard-packed cropland.

Future

There’s no question that our local waters remain in jeopardy as climate change pushes temperatures upward. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wrote in 2016 about Wisconsin’s potential climate change impacts: “Rising water temperatures will increase the available habitat for warmwater fish such as bass, while shrinking the available habitat for coldwater fish such as trout.” Our wettest days of the year are 35 percent wetter, increasing the likelihood of catastrophic flooding. In short, the agency predicts greater unpredictability. Many scientists believe our planet has already passed the point of no return, making it all the more important for farms and resource management organizations to embrace techniques that improve climate adaptability and resilience.

On a positive note, the Great Lakes Compact ensures that lakewater will not be diverted outside the Great Lakes basin, protecting the fishing and shipping industries that rely on these waters. Governor Evers’s declaration of 2019 as “the Year of Clean Drinking Water” kickstarted the development of new water quality protections that had stalled during the Walker administration, and spurred a mostly bipartisan $10 million water quality package that passed the Assembly in early 2020. The legislation represents excellent progress, although it still has to make it through the Senate and to the governor. Looking to the future, the Yahara CLEAN Compact to improve and protect the Yahara River watershed expects to release an action roadmap in 2021.

It’s vital for citizens to be aware of the existing and changing regulations, legislation and nongovernment work that will affect the quality of our local water supplies for generations to come.