Environmental concerns
Well the article did mention the prodigious amounts of water required to grow crops, which is often a concern in the western US where most hops are grown. They don't 'affect the environment' but they affect the amount of water available for other uses in times of drought, and in places like California's central valley where aquifers are being drawn down at an alarming rate (land in some places has lost 6-8 feet in elevation over the last few decades) that's a very real concern.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
