Taking on Water Challenge: Week 1 – Eat Less Meat

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Angela Fritz, 9:41 PM GMT on February 05, 2013

This guest post is the fourth from Wendy Pabich in a series on the global water crisis. Wendy is the author of Taking on Water: How One Water Expert Challenged Her Inner Hypocrite, Reduced Her Water Footprint (Without Sacrificing a Toasty Shower), and Found Nirvana. She holds a Ph.D. in environmental engineering from the Parsons Water Resources Laboratory at MIT.

Estimates vary, but data from the Water Footprint Network suggests that the annual water footprint of the average American consumer is more than 750,000 gallons per year, nearly 60 percent of which is used in the production of our food. America’s startlingly high water footprint is primarily due to high per capita consumption of meat and industrial products.

According to the Water Footprint Network, it requires about:
• 1,799 gallons to produce one pound of beef
• 468 gallons per pound of chicken
• 576 gallons per pound of pork
• 880 gallons per gallon of milk

Copious volumes of water are needed to grow feed for animals, and then additional water is used to care for animals, process meat, and distribute and sell animal products. By contrast, raising fruit, vegetables, and grains requires a fraction of the water:

• Carrots require only 6.5 gallons of water per pound
• Apples, nearly 100 gallons per pound
• Peas, 10.2 gallons per pound
• Blueberries, 13.8 gallons per cup
• Potatoes, 119 gallons per pound

By avoiding red meat for two days this week, you can reduce your water footprint by about 953 gallons. By continuing this practice, you can save nearly 50,000 gallons of water in a year.

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