International World Water Day was started in 1993 by the United Nations and is held annually on March 22nd “as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.”
In the US, where we regularly indulge in overabundance, we don’t often worry about conserving water. We think that concerns over a lack of fresh water only effect under-developed countries and far-away continents. But while access to clean, fresh water in third world countries is no doubt a serious concern, we don’t even realize that we are squandering our own fresh water resources right here in America.
In the US, we are depleting our underground aquifers faster than we can replenish them. The largest underground freshwater supply in the world, The Ogallala Aquifer, spans over a vast area of the US including portions of 8 states (South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Texas). It is being depleted by 13 trillion gallons a year and it is going to run out. The area in Northwest Texas is already dry. They can’t get any water from their wells and once booming agricultural towns have collapsed.
Part of the problem is that the Ogallala Aquifer doesn’t recharge from rainfalls or rivers. It is called “fossil water” - once it is used, it is gone. And the Ogallala Aquifer is being used faster now than ever, as it provides 30% of the agricultural irrigation water in the US. Some estimates say that it will dry up in as little at 25 years.
The regions overlying the Ogallala aquifer have been called the “breadbasket of America” because they are some of the most productive regions for ranching livestock, and growing corn, wheat, soybeans, and alfalfa in the US. Without the Ogallala Aquifer, America’s heartland food production collapses. No water means no irrigation for the crops grown across these states to feed both people and livestock. And each year, the Ogallala Aquifer drops another few inches as it is literally being sucked dry by the tens of thousands of agricultural wells that tap into it.
So as you can see, water conservation, even here in the US, is absolutely critical.
As a kid, I was taught to conserve water by taking faster showers, turning off the faucet while I brushed my teeth, and making sure the garden hose wasn’t dripping. But I was never taught that the one thing that has the most impact on water conservation is what I choose to eat.
Irrigation accounts for 40% of all freshwater usage in the US and all this irrigation is needed to water all of our crops (20% percent of US land is cropland). But the really remarkable statistic is that 70% of all US crops are fed to livestock!
It takes 108 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of corn, 119 gallons for 1 pound of potatoes, 132 gallons for 1 pound of wheat, or 216 gallons of water for 1 pound of soy. But it takes a whopping 1,800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef! (This includes the water that was needed to irrigate the crops – corn/soy/grass – in the cattle’s feed, as well as the water it drank).
[All figures are from this National Geographic site.]
Let’s put this into perspective:
If you take a daily seven-minute shower using a standard 3-gallon-per-minute showerhead, you’re using about 150 gallons of water per week, or 7,800 gallons of water per year. But if you switch to a 2-gallon-per-minute low-flow showerhead, you use about 100 gallons of water per week, or 5,200 gallons of water per year. By going low flow, you save 2,600 gallons of water per year, which is excellent.
But by giving up only three pounds of beef per year, you’d save 5,400 gallons of water – that’s more than an entire year’s worth of showers with a low-flow showerhead. Think about that. Really think about it… I’m not talking about giving up all beef, I’m talking about eating only three less pounds of beef for the ENTIRE YEAR. You would save more water by eating three less pounds of beef a year than you would by not showering at all for the entire year.
Beef isn’t the only culprit. All animal agriculture (including dairy & eggs) is quickly depleting our finite fresh water resources. Growing plants to feed to animals that we eat, instead of just eating the plants directly, is extremely inefficient and wasteful. On average, a vegan (indirectly) consumes nearly 600 gallons of water per day less than a person who eats the average American diet. Reducing the amount of meat you eat is the most effective way to conserve water.
For more information about the meat industry’s effect on our environment, check out this extremely thorough report by the United Nations, Livestock’s Long Shadow. Chapter 4 is about water.
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Breakfast: Smoothie with mixed frozen fruit, flax seed (for omega-3), and almond milk
Lunch: Thundercloud‘s Nada Chicken Parm sub (no cheese, add hot peppers!)
Dinner: Pinto bean tacos with homemade guac, tomato, lettuce, cilantro, and salsa
