Water shortages are a growing problem, but not for the reasons most people think

...To grow a kilogram of wheat requires around 1,000 litres. But it takes as much as 15,000 litres of water to produce a kilo of beef. ...

Apr 8th 2009

........Different foods require radically different amounts of water. To grow a kilogram of wheat requires around 1,000 litres. But it takes as much as 15,000 litres of water to produce a kilo of beef. The meaty diet of Americans and Europeans requires around 5,000 litres of water a day to produce. The vegetarian diets of Africa and Asia use about 2,000 litres a day (for comparison, Westerners use just 100-250 litres a day in drinking and washing).

So the shift from vegetarian diets to meaty ones—which contributed to the food-price rise of 2007-08—has big implications for water, too. In 1985 Chinese people ate, on average, 20kg of meat; this year, they will eat around 50kg. This difference translates into 390km3 (1km3 is 1 trillion litres) of water—almost as much as total water use in Europe..........

Source: Water shortages are a growing problem, but not for the reasons most people think

Other EVANA-articles about this topic:
Peter Gleick: The Water to Grow Beef (en)
EEA: If the well runs dry — climate change adaptation and water (en)
An Earth Day Reflection On The Breathtaking Effects Of Cutting Back On Meat (en)
EEA: Water use 'unsustainable' in many parts of Europe (en)
World Water Day - 22 March 2009 (en)