How much water does it take to feed you? Depends on what you eat. The water in your diet goes beyond your eight glasses a day.
If you’re Australian, you’re probably already a bit of a water conservation whiz. There was a time when watering your lawn in the middle of the day was a major social faux pas – not to mention illegal. But according to National Geographic, nearly 95% of your water footprint is hidden in the food we eat, energy we use and products and services we utilise.
How much water do you eat?
Artist Egle Plytnikaite from Lithuania has created a gorgeous set of graphics to illustrate just how much water we’re consuming in our meals. Take a look:
Egle’s work is based on information from The Guardian, IME, Ecology, GRACE Communication Foundation, and the Los Angeles Times. See more of Egle’s work or get in contact on Behance or Facebook.
When a ‘quarter pounder’ takes 30 showers worth of water to make, it’s pretty clear that cutting down on meat and dairy products can help reduce your overall water consumption. According to National Geographic, by going vegan you could be consuming 2000 litres less water a day.
What can you do to cut down your water footprint?
- Choose grass-fed beef rather than grain-fed
- Consider the water and energy costs of food transportation, and buy local
- If you can’t cut meat and dairy out of your diet – consider adopting Meat-free Mondays
