Central Coast residents call for Big Carrot boycott as growers sue over water rights

In a battle likened to David versus Goliath, Cuyama Valley residents have launched a boycott of Big Carrot after two giant growers sued all landowners in the community over water rights.

Bolthouse Farms and Grimmway Farms are among the plaintiffs for the lawsuit claiming hundreds of defendants — and all property owners — including homeowners, businesses and public agencies in the Cuyama Valley.

At the heart of the fight is the rights to the water in the Cuyama Valley Basin, which has been designated among the California’s most overdrafted groundwater basins for years.

Overdrafted basins happen when the amount of water pumped out is larger than the long-term average supply of water into the basin. Groundwater remains the lone source since State Water Project delivery isn’t available.

Cuyama Valley residents call for Big Carrot boycott

On July 30, a steady stream of people showed up at Cuyama Buckhorn’s backroom to hear about efforts to fight the massive lawsuit.

Along with waging war in the courtroom, Cuyama Valley residents plan to hit Bolthouse and Grimmway at the produce section.

“When you see these labels, just walk away,” the group’s “Cuyama vs. Carrots” video states.

Bumper stickers and yard signs for the boycott were handed out July 30. Attendees were urged to take a photo with the Boycott Carrots banner to post on the campaign website to reveal who Cuyama residents are and show “the faces of this fight.”

“This is just the start,” Ella Boyajian said.

Not long after she and her husband purchased property on Wasioja Road in the valley, they received notice of the water rights lawsuit.

“Show everybody you possibly can,” smaller rancher Jake Furstenfled said. “Tell our story. Tell your story.”

Organizers urged residents to share the StandWithCuyama.com website to help spread the plight of the property owners.

“We’re really excited to get the conversation going,” Boyajian added.

Companies account for 80% of world’s carrot market

Grimmway and Bolthouse reportedly account for 80% of the world’s carrot market plus make other products such as dressings and smoothies. Grimmway also sells products under Cal-Organic Farms and Bunny-Luv brands.

Representatives of the companies did not respond to a request for comment about the boycott.

The short video, “Cuyama vs Carrots,” was played multiple times at the July 30 event, spelling out the concerns. An online change.org petition “Save the Cuyama Valley Groundwater Basin — Boycott Carrots” quickly grew to more than 600 signatures and continued to gain supporters this week.

After the video aired, Boyajian answered one woman’s question about purchasing loose carrots.

“I know. I like carrots,” Boyajian said as the woman reacted to a negative answer. “The safest bet is not to buy them.”

Grimmway’s website lists carrot bunches among its many products.

Another man shared mixed feelings, calling himself a capitalist at heart. “I feel awkward penalizing success,” he said.

Frustration with the corporate giants doesn’t include the workers, Boyajian said, placing the blame on executives making the decisions now affecting landowners.

“They’re so far removed I doubt they even know where Cuyama is on a map,” Boyajian added.

As another local resident, Charlie Bosma, greeted new arrivals, a white board behind him spelled out their seemingly simple request of the growers: “Stop over-pumping! Stop suing us! Pay us back!”

They hope the campaign and Cuyama’s story leads to the end of over-pumping of the groundwater basin, a dropped water-rights lawsuit and reimbursement for legal fees paid by those forced to defend against the legal action.

Growers sue over groundwater

The new campaign comes as the court case moved to the first phase — defining the Cuyama Valley groundwater basin’s boundaries.

The civil complaint filed by the agricultural companies identifies the basin as being about 378 square miles or approximately 8,685 acres, of which about 168 square miles are within Santa Barbara County, 120 square miles are within Ventura County, 77 square miles within San Luis Obispo County and 13 square miles within Kern County.

Locals remain frustrated that the lawsuit’s filing came after Grimmway and Bolthouse representatives along with others in the community worked together to craft a groundwater sustainability plan for the basin as required by the state Groundwater Sustainability Act.

“What we are asking and hoping is we can get Grimmway and Bolthouse to go back to the government-provided democratic process that our community participated in,” Bosma said.

The panel submitted the plan to the state, but the two firms surprised their Cuyama Valley neighbors by filing the complaint in state court — “essentially suing everyone for water rights while buying them time to continue pumping at unsustainable and dangerous rates,” according to the online petition.

“Now, locals risk losing their water rights and are under financial stress as they are forced to engage in this legal battle,” the petition noted, adding they fear the groundwater basin will dry up leaving locals to face “devastating health, environmental, and financial impacts.”