this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2025
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[–] [email protected] -2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They can grow lettice and tomatoes in California, but not year round.

Of course they can, ever heard of greenhouses?

Also, places like the Imperial Valley have ideal growing climate throughout the winter and crank out a massive amount of produce.

You should really do a bit more research before posting such nonsense.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I've done way more research into growing crops by actually growing crops.

We have produce in our grocery stores year round because we are able to import them from various microclimates as they ripen. Without imports, it would be impossible to have that same year round coverage of so many different crops. For instance, lettuce can't be grown anywhere in the continental US in hot months like July and August. They bolt and get bitter in the heat. We might be able to grow lettuce in California or Florida in the winter, but not in large enough quantities to supply the salad and sandwich needs of the entire country.

And it would take an incredible number of greenhouses to fill the needs of the entire country, and they still wouldn't solve all problems. You said yourself that we already produce half the produce we require, so if growing crops year round is so easy with greenhouses and such, why arent we already supplying ALL of our crops? Surely it would be cheaper, easier, and more profitable to grow them right here rather than importing them, so why aren't we doing it?

What about fruit, which is often grown on trees, and can't be grown in greenhouses? You can't make an apple tree produce fruit outside of their normal harvest season. I live in Florida, and pass orange orchards every day. They have one harvest season, and that's it. If we want oranges in the off season, they have to be imported.

Temperature isnt even the primary issue in growing crops, although it is very important. The amount of daylight is the bigger factor. Crops flower and produce their fruit or vegetables based on the light cycle. The lettuce I mentioned earlier doesn’t bolt and produce seeds (ruining the plant for eating) because its hot, it is responding to the long daylight hours. You can't change the way the Earth revolves around the sun and wobbles on its axis, so you would have to grow indoors under lights. That's what weed growers do, but weed is a much higher yield plant that can be grown in much smaller indoor facilities. You couldn't grow enough indoor off-season tomatoes or watermelons to supply the entire nation.

Without imports, it is simply impossible to supply a steady supply of produce year round, using only the climate of the continental US, even with greenhouses. Without imports, it is simply a fact that our grocery stores will be full of some produce for a few months of the year, scarce in others, and non-existent for several months. Prices will fluctuate wildly. We will be forced to rely on inferior canned vegetables, although many canned brands are imported from other nations, like tomatoes.

Then there are those regional crops, that are almost exclusively grown elsewhere, and not even grown in the US, like many spices and herbs.

You sound like HitlerPig, going on and on defending your impossible scheme that is based entirely on your own imaginary and ignorant ideas, no matter how much evidenc and experience contradicts it.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

Surely it would be cheaper, easier, and more profitable to grow them right here rather than importing them, so why aren't we doing it?

It’s not, because overseas labor is still far cheaper than domestic. Even tariffs won’t change that entirely, they’ll just make it a little more competitive to grow domestically.