Did you know it takes 15,500 litres of water to produce 1kg (2.2lbs) of beef and 3,900 litres for just 1kg (2.2lbs) of chicken meat? For each hamburger you consume, it takes 2400 litres of water to produce.
If we think in terms of bathtubs of water (the average bathtub holds 150 liters or 40 gallons), 1kg of beef takes 103 bathtubs full of water, 1 kilogram of chicken takes 26 bathtubs full of water and each hamburger you consume takes more than 16 bathtubs full of water.
We use an incredible amount of water to support our lifestyles, not just the water we use for drinking, cooking and washing, but we utilize even more water for producing things such as food, paper, cotton and clothes.
The Water Footprint Network, in conjunction with a group of organizations and companies, recently launched a campaign to get people to think about their water footprint. The water footprint is an indicator of water consumption that looks at both direct and indirect water use of a consumer or company.
“The concept of Water Footprint has really helped to create the understanding that human impact on freshwater systems can ultimately be linked to human consumption,” explains Professor Arjen Hoekstra, creator of the water footprint concept and Scientific Director of the Network. “Local water depletion and pollution are often closely tied to the global trade of water-intensive goods”.
Unfortunately, The Water Footprint Network has some affiliate organizations that don’t always seem to have the best interests of local communities at heart – including The Coca Cola Company, Nestle Ltd. and Unilver PLC. (manufacturers of Dove and a recent target of an anti-palm oil campaign from Greenpeace).
However, they do have a couple of super cool water footprint calculators to help you tabulate your personal footprint and the water footprint of lots of common foodstuffs like apples, barley, beer, cheese, soy and sugar.
Visit: http://www.waterfootprint.org/
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