Today is World Water Day and of all the articles I read, it was the simple numbers of our daily food choices that grabbed me. Of particular note, my favorite foods from butter, olives, chocolate and wine are all water-wasting choices. Darn. And isn’t it surprising that lettuce is low on the list? I thought that would take more water to keep hydrated. Go figure.
Note: In general these figures have been derived from work done by Waterfootprint.org and represent gallons of water consumed per pound of food (except for beverages, whose volumes are listed). They represent global averages, not specific conditions in any one place.
Fruits, Vegetables & Grains
Lettuce — 15 gallons;
Tomatoes — 22 gallons;
Cabbage — 24 gallons;
Cucumber — 28 gallons;
Potatoes — 30 gallons;
Oranges — 55 gallons;
Apples — 83 gallons;
Bananas — 102 gallons;
Corn — 107 gallons;
Peaches or Nectarines — 142 gallons;
Wheat Bread — 154 gallons;
Mango — 190 gallons;
Avocado — 220 gallons;
Tofu — 244 gallons;
Groundnuts — 368 gallons;
Rice — 403 gallons;
Olives — 522 gallons;
Chocolate — 2847 gallons;
Meat & Dairy
This is where water intensity really starts increasing. If you want to reduce the water footprint of your diet, this is where you want to really cut back:
Eggs — 573 gallons;
Chicken — 815 gallons;
Cheese — 896 gallons;
Pork — 1630 gallons;
Butter — 2044 gallons;
Beef — 2500-5000 gallons; (Global figures for the water intensity of beef vary so significantly that an average isn’t particularly informative, so a range of figures is given)
And Drinks:
Tea (8oz) — 7 gallons;
Beer, barley (8oz) — 36 gallons;
Coffee (8oz) — 29 gallons;
Wine (8oz) — 58 gallons;