Water Footprint

Water Footprint? We’ve learned about carbon footprint and how it can be measured. We don’t hear so much about a water footprint, that is, the amount of fresh water required in all phases of producing the goods and services we all use. A tremendous amount of water is required to produce food, i.e. growing crops, raising livestock, and processing food.

Interesting charts (Water Footprint Network) show us some samples of calculations of water amounts required to produce and process common food items. Animal products especially, like meat, dairy and eggs, all tend to require more water than fruits, and vegetables. A few examples: 6 oz steak – 674 gallons; a hamburger (meat, lettuce, tomato, bread) – 660 gallons; 1 egg -52 gallons; 4 oz pasta – 56 gallons; 4 oz potatoes – 9 gallons; 4 oz potato chips – 31 gallons. (American statistics from National Associations of Water Companies).