Agave distillates specialist Marsella Macias outlines concerns on the CA agave rush
While agave may be California’s next drought tolerant plant, the hyperfocus of it prospering as a cash crop for Californian distillates must be more closely analyzed to properly determine if the benefits being touted outweigh the ecological and socio-economic impacts the emerging industry could irreversibly invoke both in the United States and México, the ancestral region of agave distillate production.
California’s emerging agave industry and its distillates made headlines throughout 2022 and continue to do so in 2023. In August 2022 the University of California, Davis announced it established a research fund to “focus on outreach and research into the (agave) plants and their viability as a low-water crop in the state.” The fledgling industry implies agave is potentially California’s new drought-tolerant crop and that research offers a chance to better understand the plant and its viability, especially for making California agave spirits. This viewpoint may be admissible to some, but as an agave distillates specialist, advocate, and conservationist with over a decade working with and exploring agave- and mezcal-producing regions throughout México, and also a native Californian who is a current graduate student focusing on traditional agave- and mezcal-producing regions, I contend it must be considered what types of agaves are used for research, and how California distilleries use agave for production, which can potentially be drought-tolerant unfriendly.
The primary agave species being cultivated and sold within California to local distilleries is Agave Tequilana Blue Weber, the sole species that, by Mexican law, is permitted to produce tequila; thus, Ag. Tequilana is a non-native species recently introduced to California. The intention then is questionable as to why this species, a proven cash crop in México, is being predominately utilized for Californian production and for UC Davis’s research, rather than focusing on low-water cultivation and conservation of California’s four native agave species – Ag. americana, Ag. deserti, Ag. shawii and Ag. utahensis. In a 2021 Public Library of Science peer-reviewed article about native California agave, “the restriction to native species minimizes the threat posed by non-native plants becoming invasive when introduced into the fauna and flora of the State. Agave americana, for instance, is classified as an invasive plant in parts of Australia and Macronesia and was listed as an environmental weed that threatened biodiversity in the former. Though mass scale cultivation of the native species can be a challenge…native agave species have the advantage of being well-suited to the local climatic (conditions), which may render the plants more resilient against pests and diseases and less reliant on fertilizers.” In the case of California, by focusing on a non-native species not fully adapted to the local climate and soils, it increases the likelihood of the agave being more susceptible to disease and reliant on fertilizers. Couple that with what we’ve seen in most tequila-producing regions: mono-cropping of Ag. Tequilana and planting in the same fields life cycle after life cycle leads to severe soil degradation, high usage of chemical fertilizers, and other ecological complications.
Consider, too, California distilleries’ production methods and potential heavy use of other natural resources like water. During a recent interview with David Suro, a well-respected tequila and mezcal industry leader, he noted that his brand’s traditional process to produce one 750 milliliter bottle of mezcal requires the utilization of 10 to 15 liters of water. While Californian distillers may claim they are not practicing mezcal-producing methods, still the question of how much water is used to produce California agave distillates must be addressed if contentions supporting save-water initiatives and promoting drought-tolerant agave are to hold any weight.
The state’s wine industry is a prime example of water extraction and usage for production. In a 2015 NPR article, California’s Vineyards Pressed To Turn Less Water Into Wine, David Block, chairman of the UC Davis viticulture and oenology department claimed, “most California wineries use somewhere between 2.5 and 6 gallons of water to make each gallon of wine — a ratio that does not include irrigation water and other pre-harvest needs.” And according to a Huffington Post article, This Is How Much Water It Takes To Make Your Favorite Foods noted, “it takes 872 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of wine…or broken down more closely, 34 gallons of water needed for 5 fluid ounces of wine.”
Aside from ecological concerns about California’s arising agave industry, the socio-economic impacts to México’s long-standing agave industry and its communities should also be taken into consideration; it’s an issue not openly addressed in recent California publications. However, what is highlighted in UC Davis’s research announcement is the fact that its US$100,000 seed gift is being used to focus research, “primarily on optimizing production in California relative to Mexico, where labor costs are lower.” The seed gift’s donator, who is also a landowner with an agave test plot being studied by UC Davis, goes on to say, “I really believe we could be very competitive with Mexico.”
In the acclaimed 2019 documentary “Agave: Spirit of a Nation,” renowned tequila industry icon, Master Distiller Carlos Camarena, raises concern about the diminishing jimador (farmer who harvests agave) population in México. It’s a masterful art requiring years to perfect – a highly revered, but laborious, tradition that younger generations are opting not to carry on. Industry professionals who understand the paramount importance of the jimador’s craft and knowledge are worried. In the documentary Don Carlos wonders, “Where are we going to get jimadores for the next generation?” If California becomes an agave-distillate haven, aiming to be competitive with México, it has the potential to lure experienced jimadores to the north to earn dollars, depleting an already endangered category of skilled workers in México’s distillate-producing regions. History has proven when men (who are predominant holders of jimador positions) emigrate in search of better-paying work, the women of their communities are burdened with tending to their homes and families alone, in addition to taking on duties that are no longer fulfilled by the departed men, consequently creating lasting socio-economic divides. Additionally, economic impacts could be felt by Mexican producers when U.S. consumer dollars shift toward purchasing California products, rather than traditionally made Mexican agave distillates.
If we’re truly concerned about California’s environmental future, including drought and wildfire problems, which UC Davis’s study mentions agave could help mitigate, we must look at the entire situational scope when discussing the introduction of new plant species and new methods of utilizing them to a land where both facets are non-native. Let us keep it focused on native California, not raw materials and production practices imported and tapped from our southern neighbor; let the region rightfully keep their plant species and cultural traditions and let’s concentrate on being innovative with native Californian agaves for genuine environmental purposes.
Leave a Comment