Tequila leaves big envirnomental hangover (1)

Tequila is causing a big environmental hangover in the lands where it is processed in central western Mexico, due to the constant dumping of highly acidic water to agricultural and water-source soils. Also, large quantities of untreated agave pulp go to waste.

Tequila, deeply absorbed into the national identity of Mexico, accompanies all types of family celebrations and national holidays. But many are unaware of the bitter taste the tequila industry leaves in the water and soil.

This liquor, which is about 38 percent alcohol (76 proof), comes from the fermentation and distillation of sugars from the blue agave (Agave tequilana weber), a plant with thick pointed leaves radiating out from a central point. It is native to Mexico.

Among the more than 200 agave varieties in this country, blue agave is the best for making tequila. Its Latin name refers to the German botanist, Franz Weber, who classified it in 1902.

The agave is grown in 180 municipalities in the western states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Michoacán, the central state of Guanajuato, and in Tamaulipas, in the east. This is the territory of the Tequila Denomination of Origin, established by the government in December 1974 to validate the legal status and quality of this liquor.

Mexico has 118 tequila factories and 715 brands. In Jalisco alone, considered the birthplace of tequila, the industry employs 38,000 people. From January to April, the factories produced 48 million liters, with about 40 million to be sold in Mexico and the rest for export.

But the tequila tradition and the business have environmental costs, particularly for water and soil.

To obtain one liter of tequila requires an input of at least 10 liters of water. However, the negative effect does not lie in the volume of water, "but rather the fact that the water is unlikely to be treated and will be discharged as industrial waste, in the ground and into streams and rivers. They are contaminated waters that contaminate more water," said José Hernández, a researcher with the University of Guadalajara and member of the Mexican Academy of Sciences.

For every liter of tequila bottled, the process generates five kilograms of agave pulp and seven to 10 liters of distillation waste, or "vinaza".

"The vinazas are acidic, they have an oil that makes the soil impermeable, and are hot when they are dumped. The acid is not recommended for agriculture; it should be neutralized. The oil makes the soil hard so it is useless for farming. And where the ground cracks, the vinaza filters into underground water sources," explained Hernández.

The indigenous peoples who lived in the region before the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors revered the agave for its many benefits. The plant represented Mayahuel, the Nahuatl goddess of fertility, whose 400 breasts fed an equal number of children.

As a distilled beverage, tequila emerged in the 16th century from the combination of the native raw material and a European fermentation process.