I have only just learned that the fracking boom has also brought a bonanza to the poor farmers of Rajasthan. This is because that beautiful, parched, arid landscape, with its intermittently drenching monsoons, provides one of the few climates suitable for the growing of guar, whose seeds are used for the making of guar gum. Previously known variously as cattle feed, a thickening agent for foods & cosmetics, or a treatment for certain medical conditions, it has been found to be the ideal form of gunge which can squeeze shale gas out of the rock in which it shelters.
As usual, such sudden wealth is not regarded as an unmixed blessing by all its recipients, the more elderly of whom worry about the security of themselves & their crops.
Links
Guar brightens Rajasthan farmers' life
Latest News and Updates on guar seed
Guar Mandi Rates
In Rajasthan, Guar Farmers Wait for a Return to Boom Times
Hindustani Times: Rajasthan farmers strike gold in guar
[PDF]National Multi-Commodity Exchange of India: Report on guar seed
India Farmers’ Forum: The Guar Growers of Rajasthan
E412 Guar gum
E412 GUAR GUM - EU Specification
Which Foods Contain Guar Gum?
WebMD: Guar gum
The Curious Cook: Ice Cream That’s a Stretch
