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Okay, so you know that the average American guzzles about 100 gallons of water every day, but do you know how much water was needed to grow that apple you'll have for lunch, or that glass of milk you had with breakfast? There's a surprising (and large!) quantity of water that goes in to everything we consume; as with other assessments, like our ecological or carbon footprints, the more information you have about how much you use, the easier it is to reduce.
That's why we like the resources available at Waterfootprint.org. In addition to the info available about how much water most of us use for drinking, cooking, and cleaning, you can learn check out the water footprint for many of the foods you consume each day. That lunchtime apple? Almost 19 gallons! And if you prefer your apple in juice form, one glass checks in at over 50 gallons! Check out their individual water footprint calculator for info on more common foods.
If you really want an eye-opener, you can start looking at the meat; beef checks in at a whopping 1860 gallons per pound. And while this information might seem shocking, it isn't meant to shame you, but to show the relationship between consumption and water use (and that everything has a price). So, you don't have to stop eating apples, for example, but, if you want to make a huge difference, cutting back on your meat consumption is a great place to start. Lots more to learn at ::Waterfootprint.org.
More about water conservation
Should Food Labelling Show Water Footprint?
Pledge to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint
Calculate Your Water Footprint
Difficulty level: Easy
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