The bane of water guzzling agriculture
[A] study has ascertained that indiscriminate exploitation of groundwater is resulting in sinking of land worldwide. … According to a report by The Guardian, countries like India, China and Mexico are rapidly draining groundwater to meet their food demands. Agriculture is at the forefront of excessive exploitation of groundwater. … In California, USA, where 80% of pure water is used for irrigation of cultivated crops, about one million acres of agricultural land is used for growing alfalfa as a fodder crop, which is exported to China. An article in the New York Times has expressed concern that the US exports one billion gallons of water to China as alfalfa per year.