In another “food-related conflict,”:http://www.totalwonkerr.net/1745/iran-the-sammitch-war Tehran and Washington are “clashing over pistachios:”:http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE49806E20081009

KERMAN PROVINCE, Iran (Reuters) – For some Iranians, it’s a galling thought: the United States may oust Iran as the world’s largest producer of pistachio nuts this year because of one of the worst harvests ever in the Islamic Republic.

[snip]

The United States has more than doubled production in the last decade to 416 million pounds (about 190,000 tons) in 2007, most of it in California. With a good pistachio year usually followed by a weaker harvest, California’s output is expected to fall to 260-270 million pounds in 2008 but this would still be more than many are forecasting in Iran.

Iran, however, maintains that size doesn’t much matter, at least when it comes to pistachio harvests:

bq. U.S. producers might use water and land more effectively but Iranian farmers say nobody can rival the taste of their pistachios, which are also used in sweets and ice-creams.

At least they’re not fighting if they’re comparing their nuts…