Water Footprint Of Meat

While many americans expect to eat a certain amount of meat and they might think well i don t eat that much they might be surprised by just how much meat and dairy they actually consume every day.

Water footprint of meat. The production of one kilogramme of beef requires approximately 15 thousand litres of water 93 green 4 blue 3 grey water footprint. The best way to lower dietary water footprints is to cut back on eating meat. Pasture raised beef s big water footprint. They also suggest a great use of resources beyond water.

Compare more products here us standard and here metric the large water footprints for beef pork and other meats indicate the large volumes of water used for their production. The water footprint of beef is primarily impacted by how much and what the cattle eat. The size and characteristics of the water footprint vary across animal types and production systems. Let s take a look at the water footprint comparison.

Pig meat 5 988 liters of water used to produce 1 kilogram of pig meat 717 gallons of water used to produce 1 pound of pig meat a relatively high water footprint. While the water it takes to make a hamburger is high beef has a particularly high water footprint at about 1 800 gallons per pound pork and chicken also take quite a bit with pork at 578 gallons and chicken at 468 gallons. The water footprint of meat is a higher number than many people might realize. As a comparison the water footprint of soybeans is 216 gallons.

4a single pound of beef takes on average 1 800 gallons of waterto produce. The water footprint of meat from beef cattle 15 400 m 3 ton as a global average is much larger than the footprints of meat from sheep 10 400 m 3 ton pig 6000 m 3 ton goat 5 500 m 3 ton or chicken 4 300 m 3 ton. People often ask what s the best way to reduce my water footprint and the conversation. Goat meat 8 763 liters of water used to produce 1 kilogram of goat meat 1 050 gallons of water used to produce 1 pound of goat meat a relatively high water footprint.

As shown by hoekstra 21 the food related water footprint of a consumer in an industrialized country can be reduced by 36 by shifting from an average meat based diet to a vegetarian diet. There is a huge variation around this global average. The water footprint of beef and other meat pound for pound meat has a much higher water footprint than vegetables grains or beans. Gallons required per 1lb of product beef 1 799 sheep 731 cheese 600 pork 576.

The water footprint of meat is in general far greater than the water footprint of equivalent plant based foods. The water footprint of beef. Corn is 108 gallons.