Animal agriculture uses lots of water
Animal ag uses lots of water
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Animal ag uses 1/3 of the water used in agriculture (Herrero et al., 2015)
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27% of all of humanity's water use (here).
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Just their feed uses 41% of the water
Case study - mega dairy and the decline of the Colorado river: on how mega-dairies and the alfalfa farms that feed them are responsible for the decline of the Colorado river. 75% of the decline in Lake Meads's water levels over the past 20 years is attributable to mega dairies. 70% of the water allocated to crop irrigation goes on animal feed.
Industrial animal ag uses more water because of water that goes into animal feed
Diet affects personal water footprint
- Aleksandrowicz et al., 2016 finds that diet choice can cut water usage by 50%
- Plant based meat can reduce water use by up to 99%
Water footprints and types of water explained
- Green water is water stored in the ground, often put there by rain
- Blue water is water found in bodies of water, like rivers and the sea
- Grey water is water required to neutralise polluntants
In the context of agriculture:
- The green water footprint of a crop is how much waterering it takes to produce it. Obviously animals do not absorb water from the ground, but because they eat crops, animals do have a green water footprint, equivalent to the green water footprint of the crops/grass/food else they eat.
- Blue water footprint of a food is the water that has to be taken out of lakes, streams and the sea to grow them. If there is no ground water then a crop must be fed with blue water and so has a blue water footprint. Animals need to drink so have a blue water footprint
- Grey water footprint is the water required to neutralise the pollution that a given product makes. If a product, crop or animal produces waste, and that waste requires water to deal with, that is the grey water footprint. It's the water required to dilute pollutants to levels that are safe for the environment they are then dumped in.