FOODS THAT REQUIERE MORE AND LESS WATER FOR THEIR PRODUCTION

You may not always take into account the amount of water required to produce a food, that is, its water footprint. But the reality is that there are foods that need a lot of water to be produced and there can be a huge difference between the consumption of water in the production of two different foods. Can you guess the amount of water resources needed to produce a bar of chocolate?

Food and agriculture are two of the activities that require the most water resources to be carried out. In fact, from the FAO they estimate that the agri-food industry requires approximately 100 times more water than what we use for personal purposes.

To begin with, we must bear in mind that animal fats and dairy products are the foods that need the most water for their production. Why? Well, because to be produced you have to feed and care for the animals that produce them. The meat industry requires a much larger amount of water than vegetables. The FAO estimates that to produce 1 kg of meat, between 5,000 and 20,000 liters of water are needed. On the other hand, to produce 1 kilogram of a cereal such as rye, between 500 and 4,000 liters of water are required.

If we look at the percentages of fresh water use, we have that the irrigation necessary to carry out tasks in agriculture and livestock consume up to 70% of the water that is extracted from rivers and underground reserves. 20% goes to industry and 10% to domestic use.

Healthy diets that include sustainability considerations can reduce associated water consumption.

Here we leave you the water footprint of some of the most consumed foods in our country:

• Chocolate: 17-196 liters per kilo
  
  
• Meat: 12,000 liters per kilo (median of different types of meat)
  
  
• Butter: 5,400 liters per kilo
  
  
• Rice: 2,500 liters per kilo
  
  
• Cereals 1,600 liters per kilo
  
  
• Milk: 1,020 liters. per kilo
  
  
• Sugar: 920 liters- 1700 liters. (depending on origin)
  
  
• Coffee cup: 840 liters per cup
  
  
• Bananas: 790 liters. per kilo
  
  
• Apples 822 liters. per kilo
  
  
• Potatoes: 287 litres. per kilo
  
  
• Cucurbitaceae (melon, cucumber, pumpkin): 400 liters per kilo.
  
  
• Lentils: 50 liters of water