Serious Eats
Olive Oil Demand Creates Water Shortages in Europe
Photograph by roboppy on Flickr.
Aggressive olive farming techniques for cheap, mass-produced olive oil now means extreme water shortages in Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Farms that produce the low-priced oils are driving out the small olive farmers who produce the quality goods—and are also leading to other "serious environmental problems" such as soil erosion.
Inappropriate weed-control and soil control, combined with the inherently high risk of erosion in many olive-farming areas, is leading to desertification on a wide scale in some of the main producing regions.
If these irresponsible farming methods continue, we might be demanding for butter instead of olive oil at our favorite restaurants.