The grain that saves water

One kilo of rice drinks roughly 2,500 litres of water. The same kilo of millets grows on a few hundred — often on rain alone.

Millets are hardy by design: deep roots, short seasons, tolerance for poor soils and high heat. They were bred by centuries of farming in exactly the conditions climate change is now spreading.

Choosing millets shifts demand toward crops that don’t drain aquifers, and toward the dryland farmers who never had the luxury of irrigation subsidies.

It is rare that the healthy choice, the tasty choice and the responsible choice line up in one bowl. This is one of those times.