Water is the essential nutrient for any life form. But in Cuyama Valley, California, water has become a hot topic. Cuyama Valley is a vast region with fields of pistachio trees, grape vines, and especially carrots. As the valley’s only source of water is groundwater, the usage of this scarce water has been widely debated and protested. Residents of Cuyama Valley have formed boycotts against Grimmway Farms, the Largest carrot-farming business in the world. The farming business was founded in the 1960s by two brothers, Rodney Grimm and Robert Grimm. According to the Grimmway Farms website, “Grimmway Farms is dedicated to protecting natural resources and preserving the environment”
However, residents see this environmental statement needs to be fixed. As a result, protests such as Stand With Cuyama Against Corporate Greed and Boycotts Carrots have emerged. Despite this Grimmway farms filed a water adjudication lawsuit in order “to determine all rights to extract and store groundwater in the Basin.” According to the lawsuit, determining rights to the water basin is necessary to protect the inhabitants of the Cuyama Valley. Due to the pushback from the members of the community, both plaintiffs Grimmway Farms and Bolthouse Farms have dropped the lawsuit and vowed to manage their usage of water efficiently and responsibly.