Last week when Governor Jerry Brown imposed the first mandatory statewide water restrictions in the California’s history—municipalities were ordered to slash their water use by 25 percent—the state's agricultural sector was notably exempt from the cutbacks.

Critics of the governor’s plan argue that excluding agriculture from the restrictions is shortsighted, since farming accounts for 80 percent of the state's water usage. Brown defended the decision explaining that cutting allocations would result in major job losses and decreased food production. “There are people in agriculture areas that are really suffering,” he said.

Some have questioned the production of so much food for export during a water shortage. Even as many farmers struggle to meet their crops’ demand for water in drought-stricken California, every