America’s favourite vegetable could be hit by California drought: Over 90% of fresh broccoli comes from the state

An average person in US eats about 6 to 8.5 pounds of fresh broccoli annually. Nationally, the country produces more than 500,000 tons of the vegetable per year, with California growing roughly 90% of the total crop. Broccoli is the most consumed vegetable in the country and obviously, most loved. However, as per a recent study published in Agribusiness by researchers from Cornell University, the country's supply of broccoli is vulnerable to the risk of drought in California.In the study, the researchers compiled 20 years of shipping records and federal drought data to build a model that analysed 14 potential sources of broccoli, including California, Arizona, Mexico, Canada and 10 eastern states. The team examined three scenarios: no drought, moderate drought, and severe drought to find that a severe drought in California could cause broccoli shipments to fall by 20.3%, while a moderate drought could lead to a 9% drop in shipments. This vulnerability is especially significant since the East Coast is home to far more people than the West Coast: about 128 million compared with 51.6 million, according to the 2025 U.S. Census Bureau estimates. This means much of the country’s broccoli...