779: Almonds | Skeptical Sunday

How do the environmental costs of producing almonds outweigh their nutritional benefits? Allow us to count the ways...

Welcome to Skeptical Sunday, a special edition of The Jordan Harbinger Show where Jordan and fact-checker, comedian, and podcast host David C. Smalley break down a topic that you may have never thought about, open things up, and debunk common misconceptions.

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/779

On This Week's Skeptical Sunday, We Discuss:

• Almonds are one of the most misunderstood "health foods" of the modern era. As of 2021, US consumption of almonds amounted to about 1.56 million metric tons worldwide, and Americans now consume more than 10 times as many almonds as in 1965. Unfortunately, while they've become a staple of healthy diets, they are not environmentally friendly.
• Almond milk is not a true dairy alternative and is mostly made of water, sugar, salt, emulsifiers, vitamins, and ascorbic acid — and only two percent almonds.
• Almond farming requires bees to wake up early from hibernation to attend the crop season, and most of the bees rented by farmers die due to pesticides and diseases — up to 50 million per year.
• It takes from one to three gallons of water to produce just one almond. That means, at the low end of the scale, one serving of almonds = 23 gallons of water, and one pound of almonds = 1900 gallons. 100 percent of the almonds you buy in the US, and 80 percent of almonds in the world, are produced in California — where there is already an issue with water shortages.
• How we can be more mindful of our almond consumption and support alternative products that are more environmentally friendly.
• Connect with Jordan on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. If you have something you'd like us to tackle here on Skeptical Sunday, drop Jordan a line at jordan@jordanharbinger.com and let him know!
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