In the past few years our understanding of what we eat has become associated with the amount of water that has been used to produce that product. This concept grew with the creation of the notion of the water footprint: “The water footprint of an individual, community or business is defined as the total volume of freshwater used to produce the goods and services consumed by the individual or community or produced by the business”(WFN,2012).
Water experts are trying very hard to make us aware of how much water is embedded in what we eat every day. One of the main water-rich foods of our daily diet is meat. Animal-protein-rich food consumes alarming quantities of water: beef cattle consume on average 15 400 litres/kg of water (WFN,2012), or 7 000 litres of water for one beef steak (UNwater). It must be noted that most of the water is used to grow feed crops for the animals. Studies show that the consumption of animal produce contributes to more than one quarter of the water footprint of humanity and that a vegetarian diet could considerably lower this impact (Hoekstra, 2012).
This information is crucial as water is becoming scarcer. As the worldwide population is growing, expected to reach 9million by 2050, many believe that more food will be needed resulting in more pressure on our natural resources. For now, the biggest consumers of meat are the developed countries, with the USA being the greatest, followed by Australia, New Zealand, Europe and South America (UNEP, 2012). However, predictions suggest that developing countries such as China are increasing their meat consumption as the growth in per capita consumption is strongly linked to increased income in developing countries (UNEP, 2012). Furthermore, a recent study also showed that meat production is one of the main contributors to the emission of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and thus has a potential impact on climate change (UNEP, 2012).
With these statistics in mind, it is hard to continue to see meat as just food - it is much more than that since it has broad implications for our environment. Some suggest turning to completely vegetarian diets or at least trying to replace meat with cereals or other food with same nutritional values as much as possible. However, drastic changes are not always easy to implement, especially in developed countries which are the biggest meat consumers as shown in the table below.
It is perhaps unrealistic to expect that people will make a radical change in their diets in the short term, but it may be possible in the long term by investing in changing consumer habits (through awareness-raising campaigns for example) and converting a large portion of the agricultural sector into something as economically profitable as raising livestock.
While waiting for diet patterns to change, solutions must be found that do not undermine the ecological foundations of agriculture and that avoid current and future constraints as a result of water scarcity. Some experts suggest moving from red meat production to the production of meat that is less harmful to the environment such as poultry and pigs (UNEP, 2012). Since most of our natural resources (land, water, soil, etc.) are used to grow animal feed, there is also the option to eat grass-fed meat. Studies show that pasture-raised meat is healthier for human diet compared to corn-fed animals; this practice is also environmentally friendly, prevents soil erosion and the use of pesticides that can seriously harm water sources, and requires much fewer energy resources (Clancy,2006, UNEP 2012).
On the policy side, our politicians should start thinking not only about promoting different diets but also about adopting policies for better management practices that focus on, for example, land conservation, and more efficient water and fertiliser use.
Thinking in terms of food distribution and not in terms of food scarcity could be another approach. Distribution of food from countries that are food abundant is an issue, as Amartya Sen pointed out, in places where it is actually needed. Promoting an equal distribution of food worldwide would actually lower the need to produce more food and reduce pressure on our resources. In developed countries, people are used to eating meat, even too much of it – i.e. an American eats more than 120 kg of meat per year compared to the 6 kg per year that an Indian would eat. This raises the question of whether or not the “western” lifestyle is unsustainable especially with regard to meat intake. The increase in meat consumption and production by developing countries coupled with the current unsustainable overconsumption of meat by developed countries makes the issue of using depleting resources for meat production even more pressing. Globally sustainable solutions must be found on top of pushing for responsible changes in consumption patterns.
References and further reading:
Circle of Blue, 2012, Clean Water Act Turns 40 (Part II): A Harvest of Clean Water Exemptions on the Farm. Available at: http://www.circleofblue.org/waternews/2012/world/clean-water-act-turns-40-part-ii-a-harvest-of-clean-water-exemptions-on-the-farm/
Clancy K., 2006, Greener Pastures: How Grass-fed Beef and Milk Contribute to Healthy Eating. Available at: http://www.ucsusa.org/food_and_agriculture/solutions/advance-sustainable-agriculture/greener-pastures.html
Hoekstra A.Y. 2012, The hidden water resource use behind meat and dairy. Available at: http://www.waterfootprint.org/Reports/Hoekstra-2012-Water-Meat-Dairy.pdf
Science Daily, 2010, Environmental and Social Impact of the 'Livestock Revolution. Available at:http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/03/100316101703.htm
Vidal J. 2012, Food shortages could force world into vegetarianism, warn scientists. Available at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2012/aug/26/food-shortages-world-vegetarianism
UNEP, 2012, Growing Greenhouse Gas Emissions Due to Meat Production. Available at:
http://na.unep.net/geas/getUNEPPageWithArticleIDScript.php?article_id=92
UNwater, 2012, Water for Food. Available at: http://www.unwater.org/worldwaterday/downloads/WWD2012_VW_FRIEZE.pdf
WFN, 2012, Water Footprint Network, Available at: http://www.waterfootprint.org/?page=files/productgallery
Map:
FAO, 2012, Livestock and Fish Primary Equivalent, FAOSTAT online statistical service,FAO, Rome. Available at: http://faostat.fao.org/site/291/default.aspx.