Water & Food
The world is facing a water crisis. It is estimated that over 2 billion people are affected by water shortages in over 40 countries, and the extensive withdrawal of water for agriculture from river, lakes and aquifers results in limited supplies for other human needs, such as drinking, washing, cooking and sanitation. According to the UN World Water Development Report, the average supply of water per person will drop by a third in the next two decades.
Beyond basic nutrition, using water wisely to produce food is a question of survival in many parts of the world. Improving agricultural water use is a key element for increasing food production, especially in many developing countries, where currently around 800 million people - 13 percent of the world’s 6 billion people - are suffering from chronic hunger. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization projects that world food production needs to be increased by around 60 percent to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2030.
In its broadest sense an eco-footprint represents the amount of land and water it takes to provide the resources required to sustain a person's consumption levels, and re-absorb the associated waste.
Water footprint
Agricultural water is water that is used to grow fresh produce and to sustain livestock. The use of agricultural water makes it possible to grow fruits and vegetables and raise livestock, which is a main part of our diet.
Agriculture is by far the largest consumer of the Earth’s available freshwater: 70% of “blue water” withdrawals from watercourses and groundwater are for agricultural usage, three times more than 50 years ago. By 2050, the global water demand of agriculture is estimated to increase by a further 19% due to irrigation needs. Approximately 40% of the world’s food is currently cultivated in artificially irrigated areas.
Worldwide, over 330 million hectares are equipped for irrigation. Irrigated agriculture represents 20 percent of the total cultivated land, but contributes 40 percent of the total food produced worldwide.
Agriculture is also a major source of water pollution from nutrients, pesticides and other contaminants, which if unmanaged can lead to significant social, economic and environmental costs.
What is irrigation?
To irrigate is to water crops by bringing in water from pipes, canals, sprinklers, or other man-made means, rather than relying on rainfall alone. Places that have sparse or seasonal rainfall could not sustain agriculture without irrigation. In areas that have irregular precipitation, irrigation improves crop growth and quality. By allowing farmers to grow crops on a consistent schedule, irrigation also creates more reliable food supplies.
An irrigation scheme draws water from groundwater, rivers, lakes or overland flow, and distributes it over an area. Hydrological, or direct, effects of doing this include reduction in downstream river flow, increased evaporation in the irrigated area, increased level in the water table as groundwater recharge in the area is increased and flow increased in the irrigated area. Likewise, irrigation has immediate effects on the provision of moisture to the atmosphere, inducing atmospheric instabilities and increasing downwind rainfall, or in other cases modifies the atmospheric circulation, delivering rain to different downwind areas.
Every day for more than 20 years, an average of 2,000 hectares of irrigated land in arid and semi-arid areas across 75 countries have been degraded by salt. Today about 62 million hectares are affected - 20% of the world's irrigated lands. This is up from 45 million hectares in the early 1990s.
Livestock
The water needed to produce food for one person in one year is about 3,000 cubic metres, to feed the present population of 6 billion is 18,000 km3/ yr to , and 27,000 km3/yr forbillion people projected in 2050.
Nearly one-third of the total water footprint of agriculture in the world is related to the production of animal products. Many reports shows us that the biggest consumer of water is meat and dairy production. With beef requiring some 400 million gallons of water per ton of meat produced, experts are starting to question such heavy water expenditures. A recent study from the University of Twente in the Netherlands confirms the water demands of meat, measured against the nutrition it provides (lots of protein) is astronomical compared to other crops.
The water footprint of any animal product is larger than the water footprint of crop products with equivalent nutritional value.The average water footprint per calorie for beef is 20 times larger than for cereals and starchy roots.
These studies strongly point out that the world’s limited water supplies can’t support the ever-increasing demand for beef. And some food experts are suggesting that we need to consider the environmental consequences of eating all that meat.
Global meat production doubled between 1980 and 2004 and it continues to increase as emerging economies develop a middle class that is hungry for beef.
The numbers are especially high for meat and animal products like dairy and eggs because animal feed typically comes from either irrigated or rain-fed grains or rain-fed forage (like grass), both of which have large blue and green water footprints.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation, water consumption and pollution, is responsible for more greenhouse gases than the transportation industry, and is a primary driver of rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean “dead zones,” and virtually every other environmental ill. Yet it goes on, almost entirely unchallenged.
Animals that are factory farm- or feedlot-raised (which the majority of livestock in this country are) consume feed that is primarily composed of corn and soy, both of which rely on high amounts of irrigation and rainwater – the blue and green water footprints.
What’s more, per ton of product, as we said, animal products generally have a larger water footprint than crop products. The same is true when we look at the water footprint per calorie. The average water footprint per calorie for beef is twenty times larger than for cereals and starchy roots. When we look at the water requirements for protein, it has been found that the water footprint per gram of protein for milk, eggs and chicken meat is about 1.5 times larger than for pulses. For beef, the water footprint per gram of protein is 6 times larger than for pulses. In the case of fat, butter has a relatively small water footprint per gram of fat, even lower than for oil crops. All other animal products, however, have larger water footprints per gram of fat when compared to oil crops. From a freshwater resource perspective, it is more efficient to obtain calories, protein and fat through crop products than animal products.
On the following graph you can see which crops have the biggest water usage.
Thirsty Crops
Rice: Rice acts as one of the most important staple food in the world and India is one of its largest producers. However, its production requires a great quantity of water. The rise in population has led to an increase in the demand for food crops; in turn escalating the amount of water required for irrigating them. Traditional farming needs 3,000 to 5,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of rice. The crop requires flooded soil for its growth as it suppresses weed growth and increases the uptake of nutrients from the soil for better yield.
Cotton: Also known as ‘white gold’, On an average, cotton uses 22,500 liters of water to produce 1 kg of cotton. Growing cotton unsustainably, with massive inputs of water and pesticides, has already been responsible for the destruction of large-scale ecosystems such as the Aral Sea in central Asia and the deteriorating health and livelihoods of people living there.
Sugarcane: Sugarcane is a water-intensive crop that remains in the soil all year long. As one of the world’s thirstiest crops, sugarcane has a significant impact on many environmentally sensitive regions, like the Mekong Delta and the Atlantic Forest. Historic planting of sugarcane around the world has led to significant impacts on biodiversity.
Generally crops require 300-500mm of rainfall/water for their growth; however, sugar cane requires 1,500-2,500mm of rainfall/water to complete the growth cycle. Therefore, the crop requires 1500-3000 liters of water to produce a kilo of sugarcane.
Soy: is a globally traded commodity produced in both temperate and tropical regions and serves as a key source of protein and vegetable oils. Since the 1950s, global soybean production has increased 15 times over. The United States, Brazil, and Argentina together produce about 80% of the world’s soy. A major source of protein, vegetable oil, and animal feed, the crop requires around 900 liters of water for 1 kilo worth produce.
Water Pollution
Human settlements, industries and agriculture are the major sources of water pollution. Globally, 80 percent of municipal wastewater is discharged into water bodies untreated, and industry is responsible for dumping millions of tonnes of heavy metals, solvents, toxic sludge and other wastes into water bodies each year.
In most high-income countries and many emerging economies, agricultural pollution has already overtaken contamination from settlements and industries as the major factor in the degradation of inland and coastal waters (e.g. eutrophication). Nitrate from agriculture is the most common chemical contaminant in the world’s groundwater aquifers . In the European Union, 38 percent of water bodies are significantly under pressure from agricultural pollution.
The livestock sector is growing and intensifying faster than crop production in almost all countries. The associated waste, including manure, has serious implications for water quality. In the last 20 years, a new class of agricultural pollutants has emerged, all the ‘medicine’ give to livestock, such as antibiotics, vaccines and growth promoters [hormones, which move from farms through water to ecosystems and drinking-water sources.
Solutions
Do we need to moderate our consumption of beef to save water?
The amount of water a typical person can save by adopting a plant-based diet is astronomical. While estimates of ‘exact’ amounts of water saved vary, even low-end estimates show annual water savings of 567811.76 litres per person! It’s certainly something to think about.
Globally, agricultural production accounts for 92 percent of our water footprint. Turning the tap down helps and having a responsible lifestyle is very important, but if you want to do just one thing that has a big impact, you should try cutting down on that meat consumption and eating more veggies.
What should governments do to confront water issues?
The challenges that lie ahead are both extremely complex and locally diverse. It will be important for policymakers to focus on efforts that increase the overall efficiency of water use by the agricultural sector, reduce the sector’s impact on freshwater resources, and improve its resilience to water risks. To this end, the OECD advocates for multiple policy responses at different levels, each adapted to specific water resource systems.
In order to facilitate a transition to a more sustainable and productive agricultural sector that is resilient to water risks, governments should act at the farm, watershed and national levels to (1) strengthen and enforce existing water regulations, (2) create incentives for farmers to improve their water use and better manage the use of polluting agricultural inputs; and (3) remove policies that support excessive use of water and polluting activities.
Starting with efficient irrigation
One area where new practices and policies can make a significant difference in water efficiency gains is the irrigation of crops. Water efficiency gains are already being obtained across Europe through both conveyance efficiency.
Policy plays a crucial role in inducing the agricultural sector to adopt more efficient irrigation practices. In the past, for example, water-pricing policies in some European countries did not necessarily require farmers to use water efficiently. Farmers rarely had to pay the true price of water reflecting the environmental and resource costs. In addition, agricultural subsidies obtained through the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and other measures were indirectly encouraging farmers to produce water-intensive crops using inefficient techniques.
As urban populations continue to rise, innovators are looking beyond traditional farming as a way to feed everyone while having less impact on our land and water resources. Vertical farming is one solution that's been implemented around the world.
Changing how things are done
In addition to modified irrigation techniques, gains in water and cost savings can also be obtained through training and knowledge-sharing programmes that educate farmers on more water efficient practices.
Changing agricultural practices can also improve the quality of the water available for other water users in a cost-effective way. Using inorganic and organic fertilisers and pesticides, for example, can address many of the water pollution problems from agriculture.
Aquaponics, a system of farming that uses no soil, also uses far less water than traditional agriculture. But while the technique is gaining attention, it remains a very niche way to grow produce due to economic limitations.
Using wastewater in agriculture
Through the use of wastewater in agriculture, more fresh water resources can be made available for other needs, including for nature and households. If the quality of the reclaimed water is properly managed, treated wastewater can provide an effective alternative for meeting agriculture’s demand for water.
What do you do to use less water? By tagging us with #theconsciouschallenge you can share your ideas!
Want to contribute to our Ecological Footprint Bible? Submit us your scientific articles! Mail us at info@theconsciouschallenge.org
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