The True Cost of Tequila (you don't need to like tequila to listen): A Chapter Reading for Cinco de Mayo

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Dive into the fascinating world of sustainable tequila production as we explore a chapter from my book "Eat Less Water" titled "Tequila and Water." 

Did you know that one liter of tequila requires 65 gallons of water to produce? With America's love for margaritas driving massive tequila imports, our collective consumption represents nearly 10 billion gallons of water annually – enough to fill almost 18,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Meet Don Adolfo Murillo, founder of award-winning Tequila Alquimia and pioneer of organic tequila production. Through his story, we uncover the stark contrast between conventional agave farming, with its heavy reliance on chemicals and unsustainable water practices, and Don Adolfo's regenerative approach rooted in his grandfather's wisdom: "If you treat the earth well, it will treat you well." His innovative methods include using Limousine cattle for natural weed control, practicing dry farming techniques that preserve precious groundwater, and transforming vinaza waste into nutrient-rich compost instead of dumping it into rivers.

The environmental impact of our drinking choices extends far beyond what meets the eye. Conventional tequila production often leaves behind degraded soil, depleted aquifers, and polluted waterways, while concentrating chemicals that might contribute to those notorious tequila hangovers. Yet Don Adolfo's international gold medals prove that sustainable practices can create superior products while protecting vital water resources. Whether you're a tequila enthusiast or someone who cares about environmental stewardship, this episode connects the dots between our consumption choices and their ripple effects on soil health, water resources, and the people who depend on them.

 Are you curious about making your own sustainable margaritas? Join our Kitchen Activist Collective or follow @eatlesswater on Instagram for Don Adolfo's simple, additive-free recipe!

Visit  Alquimia Tequila to have it shipped to you or find a bottle near you.

Start Meal Planning to Save the Planet and Money! Click Here to get started.

Join us inside the Kitchen Activist Collective. Learn more here.

Get a copy of the EAT LESS WATER book.

Reach me at [e-mail]

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi there, I want to read to you a chapter from my
book Eat Less Water calledTequila and Water.
But before I do that, I wantedto just back up a little bit and
give you some context.
I thought it was a fun averageon Cinco de Mayo, and it's the

(00:31):
most consumed cocktail in thecountry, not just on Cinco de
Mayo, so I wanted to spend sometime on tequila.
But even if you are not atequila drinker or someone who
reaches for margaritas when youare at a bar or restaurant, this
is something for everyone,because it helps us to connect

(00:54):
the dots between our foodchoices and the impact it makes,
both good and bad, in theenvironment and, specifically in
this story, the impact it makeson soil health, groundwater
levels in Mexico and rivers thehealth of rivers.
The farmer you're going to hearabout in this chapter is Don

(01:17):
Adolfo, the first generationtequila maker, and I didn't
travel to Jalisco, which iswhere his farm is located, to
interview him when I wrote thischapter, but rather traveled to
his home, which is just minutesfrom mine in Oxnard, california.
And I just went back to hishome in Oxnard and interviewed

(01:41):
Don Adolfo last Saturday andinterviewed Don Adolfo last
Saturday, and it was sointeresting to revisit many of
the topics that I talk about oryou're going to listen to in
this chapter, and that interviewis for people who are inside
the Kitchen Activist Collectiveand, if you missed it and you
are inside the collectivealready it's a brand new thing.

(02:04):
I'm really excited about thecollective because it helps us
to start building a community ofpeople who want to make a
difference and connect the dotsbetween our food choices, our
drink choices and the rivers andstreams and soil that's
attached to it, and the peopleand the people, because

(02:25):
conventional agriculture, asyou're going to listen to in
this chapter, is attached toexploitation of our natural
resources and people.
We're nature too.
We are a natural resource.
I really hope you can.
You'll enjoy this chapter andif you want to go even further,

(02:46):
you can listen to or watch theinterview that I had with Don
Adolfo and also a fun I took asegment of that piece, or
actually it was live onInstagram.
You can also see that onInstagram at eatlesswater, where
Donatoful takes us throughanswers some more questions

(03:09):
around food additives in most ofour tequila that you'll find at
the grocery store or at the bar, and also except not his, which
is Tequila Arquimia, and willtake us through a demonstration
of how to make tequila ormargaritas without the margarita

(03:29):
mix.
And it is delicious, you'regoing to love it.
And what's funny is at the veryend of squeezing the tangerine
and lime and adding the agavesyrup and ice, and he forgot.
And adding the agave syrup andice, and he forgot almost forgot
the tequila shot, but I wasthere to remind him.
That was the very best part.

(03:52):
I hope you'll enjoy thischapter and if you have the book
, eat Less Water, the recipe formargarita that he makes, that
Don Adolfo makes, is inside.
Let's dive into the chapterTequila and water.
One liter bottle of tequilaequals 65 gallons of water.

(04:14):
Blanco tequila is the color ofwater, too young to absorb the
color of oak.
It's the favorite choice formargaritas, the most popular
tequila drink.
The US imports two-thirds ofall tequila produced.
Liters of tequila with a waterfootprint of nearly 10 billion

(04:45):
gallons, enough to fill 17,845Olympic-sized pools.
I swirled a clear liquid in myshot glass.
Absent are wedges of lime andshakers of salt used to soften
the sharp burn of tequila.
Tequila alchia the Spanish wordfor alchemy, is made to sip.
Dr Adolfo Murillo, owner ofTequila Alquimia, hands me a
second taster.

(05:06):
Notice the color of the gold.
Anejo directs Adolfo.
Its color comes from oakbarrels.
We took minerals deep in theearth, rainwater from the sky
and energy from the sun andcreated liquid gold.
Gold medals, prominentlydisplayed in glass cases,
decorate the dining room inAdolfo's Oxnard California home.

(05:28):
His tequilas Blanco, reposado,anejo and Extra Anejo won 40
international gold medals.
Won 40 international goldmedals.
Do judges know your tequila isorganic?
No, it's a blind taste,otherwise it would be a small

(05:53):
competition.
There are only four certifiedUSDA organic out of 1,150 brands
, adolfo says.
His thick black mustache liftswith his smile.
Do you think organic agaveimproves the flavor of your
tequila?
My grandfather taught me, ifyou treat the earth well, it
will treat you well.
So yes, how we grow the plantsimproves the flavor of the
tequila.
He shows me photographs of hisagave ranch in Agua Negra,

(06:15):
jalisco, one of five states thatcan cultivate tequila according
to Mexican laws.
The 125-acre ranch is adjacentto land that once belonged to
Adolfo's grandfather.
Dozens of photographs show thespiny blue agave plants growing
in obedient straight lines.
The strong, sharp spines reachfor the sky in a sun salutation.

(06:39):
Photos of cows foraging betweenthe tight rows of blue agave
enter the screen.
The cattle are weed control,adolfo says.
They increase themicrobiological material of the
soil with the manure they leavebehind.
Don't the cattle damage theagave plants?
No, they avoid the spines.

(07:02):
I chose the limousine cattle,originally from France, because
of their superior foraging.
The cattle help remove thequillotes every spring.
What are quillotes?
He leads me out through thesliding glass door near the
kitchen and points upward Blueagave border, the patio of his
home.
My vision travels up along athick stalk bursting from the

(07:26):
center of one plant.
Its top reaches the eaves ofthe second story.
Clusters of coral-like flowerssprout from branches.
When you grow agave for tequila, you want the juice
concentrated in the piña or core.
Guillotes, he motions to theflower high above us, extract
significant juice from the plant.

(07:48):
So we'd spend hours removingthem by hand every spring.
The cows began eating theflowers straight from the plant
as soon as they figured out howsweet they taste.
They do the work for us.
Do other agave farms use cattle?
No, but the word has gotten outabout our cows who eat

(08:08):
quillotes.
We considered renting them out,but we prefer that our cows eat
only organic plants.
How long does agave grow?
Standing beside one plant.
I touched the point of its leafwith the tip of my finger.
Agaves grow for 6 to 10 years.
It depends on the timing of theharvest.
The length of the growingseason makes organic even more

(08:31):
important.
Most conventionally grown cropslike lettuce or celery are
cultivated in a single season,but the exposure to pesticides
for agave spans years.
Agave farms depend on the steadyapplication of chemicals to
kill weeds and eradicate pestslike the pucudo bug or weevil.

(08:52):
The glossy black insects withhorn-shaped snouts feast on the
sweet sap inside the leaves.
Once inside the cavity of theplant, the picudo leaves its
larva behind, making the plantuseless for distillation.
Chemical fertilizers leave aresidue of salts and heavy

(09:12):
metals that collect in the soilafter each use, adolfo says.
Eventually the land becomesless productive, causing the
grower to use even morefertilizers.
You end up with sterile soilthat cannot sustain life.
Adolfo works to reverse thetrend towards sterile land in
Mexico.
On his frequent trips to hisranch, he regularly mentors

(09:37):
Mexican farmers on transitioningto organic farming.
Why are your plants resistant topests without chemicals?
When you use pesticides, theplant relies on the chemical
instead of itself.
Our plants build their owndefenses.
Plants, unlike animals, have noimmune system.

(09:57):
The plant equivalent is acombination of structural,
chemical and protein-baseddefenses against pathogens.
Nutrient imbalances compromisethe plant's innate defense
mechanisms and lower pestresistance, inviting the need to
use chemicals to protectsusceptible crops.

(10:18):
The distillation processconcentrates the chemicals
absorbed by the plant over adecade.
I believe it's why tequilasearn the reputation for terrible
hangovers.
I don't need to worry about ahangover.
I take another sip of tequilafrom the shot glass I carried
outside.
No, but just like any alcohol,we all have our limits.

(10:42):
I bring down the glass from mylips, unwilling to test mine.
We return to the photos on thelaptop.
The town of Agua Negra receiveslittle rainfall.
Close-ups of the ground revealbrittle sandstone.
The water for irrigation comesprimarily from underground.
80% of large distilleriespurchase agave from contract

(11:06):
farmers.
Once the aquifer runs dry,leased land is abandoned,
leaving limited water for smallfarms of the region.
Adolfo's agave is dry farmedusing no irrigation after the
plant is established.
How can you dry farm?

(11:26):
During the rainy season, wefence the cattle out of the
agave to let the weeds grow.
The weeds protect the topsoiland help store water.
After the rainy season passes,we mow the weeds, leaving the
root systems intact.
We leave the mowed weeds on theground too.
The decomposing plant materialhelps the soil absorb moisture

(11:49):
for the plants.
In the dry months, adolfo's farmcollects millions of gallons of
water under the parched rocks.
My grandfather would invite thetownspeople to use water from
the spring on his land.
I think it brought him a senseof pride to share water with his
community.
Do you know what's happened tothe spring?

(12:09):
The last I heard?
It's nearly dry, I imagine thewater is polluted with
herbicides, pesticides andfertilizers.
His tone softens when speakingabout his grandfather's land.
A picture of his two daughtersholding machetes appears on the
screen.
My daughters have becomeexperts at using a machete,

(12:32):
laughs Adolfo.
Tequila is harvested by slicingoff the leaves with machetes to
expose the torso of the agaveplant called the piña, named so
because it resembles anovergrown pineapple.
Mules carry the ripe piñasweighing between 80 to 200
pounds, more than three timesthe average weight of plants

(12:55):
from surrounding farms.
The sugar content, or bricks ofthe piña, adds to the
complexity of flavor.
Adolfo's bricks is more thandouble the average.
The images move from the farmto a tequila distillery located
on a river.
Ancient alchemists inventeddistillation, adolfo tells me.

(13:18):
Agave is cooked until it's softand tastes like sweet potato.
Next it is shredded to releasethe juice from the plant fibers.
Juice from the plant fibersNatural yeast eats the sugar and
digests them, creating alcoholin fermentation tanks twice
Adolfo's height.
The fermentation will take 7 to10 days.

(13:41):
When you let it follow itsnatural course, as we do, many
tequila companies prefer thefaster method of three days,
using supercharged yeast.
That's essentially chemicalfertilizer.
The heavy metals and saltpresent in the supercharged
yeast is concentrated duringdistillation.

(14:02):
Tequila production leaves behindvinasa, a liquid that holds
high concentrations of chemicals, heavy metals, salt and
nitrogen.
What happens to the vinyasa?
I asked, afraid of the answer.
Well, the common practice ofvinyasa disposal is to pour it

(14:22):
untreated into rivers.
We look at photos posted on theinternet of rivers tainted with
tequila's byproduct.
The river water is the color ofrust.
The Mexican governmentdiscourages the practice of
dumping untreated vinasa byimposing fines.
Most distilleries opt to paythe fines rather than building

(14:45):
costly treatment plants.
Every one liter bottle oftequila generates 10 liters of
vinyasa.
Adolfo devised a solution forvinyasa disposal On the land
behind the distillery.
We turn the vinyasa intocompost.
We pour vinyasa over a layer ofclay and piña fiber.

(15:08):
He shows me a picture of weedsand flowers growing out of a
mound of soil.
With a little bit of effort,vinyasa can support life instead
of stripping the rivers ofMexico of their ability to
sustain life.
One last sip of tequila remains.
I raise my glass and Adolfojoins in To tequila alquimchemia

(15:31):
.
Thank you for preserving freshwater supplies and protecting
rivers.
Our glasses chime in agreement.
So that ends the chapter oftequila and water.
Thank you for listening to that.
There is power in thecollective.
Be well.