Imagine for a moment the action of eating a hamburger. Barely a quarter of an hour in which to dispatch a portion of meat with lettuce, tomato, cheese and bread, as well as some French fries and a drink to accompany it. A daily act that, however, leaves a huge water expense: 3,500 liters. A concept explains this, the water footprint, which refers to the great waste of one of the most valuable elements on Earth.
The word, coined by the recently deceased expert Arjen Hoesktra, refers to the direct and indirect use of water that results from the production of all kinds of products. In the National Water Footprints Account, a study for UNESCO together with Mesfin Mekonnen, it is defined as “a measure of human appropriation of freshwater resources” and includes the blue footprint (the part corresponding to surface and groundwater), the green footprint (corresponding to water from rain, snow or thaw, which is used mainly on crops) and gray water (the amount of fresh water necessary to assimilate contamination from processes). In summary: that the water footprint is the water that it costs to obtain a food or other consumer product. Another red flag regarding the .
Returning to the hamburger example illustrates the calculation of this water footprint. Taking 200 grams of veal as a reference, the water necessary to feed the cattle and the subsequent obtaining of the piece is approximately 3,100 liters. The two portions of bread will have an impact (due to the maintenance of the crop) in about 100 liters, the lettuce and tomato about 10, and the cheese 180 liters. To this we must add the 30 from a cartridge of chips and the 74 from a glass of beer. In total, about 3,500 liters of water. Or what is the same, the amount needed to fill about 40 bathtubs.
The work of the Water Footprint Network institute, founded by Hoesktra, has been fundamental for delving into the calculation of the water footprint and also for illustrating simple examples for the general public. Obtaining a kilogram of chocolate consumes 17,000 liters of water, for 15,000 for a kilo of beef, 10,000 for a kilo of lamb, 8,800 for a kilo of tea, 6,000 for a kilo of pork, 4,700 for a kilo of powdered milk, more than 3,000 of a kilo of olives or one of eggs, 2,500 of a kilo of rice or almost 1,900 of a kilo of pasta. Quantities of water infinitely superior to those that are obtained in a net way in the form of food.
But not only in food: a liter of biodiesel leaves a water footprint of 11,400 due to the use of soybeans, a cotton T-shirt causes a footprint of 2,500 liters, pants approximately 8,000 liters and a kilo of bovine leather leaves an impact of 17,000. liters. Thus, the water footprint not only affects the food sector, but the entire model of human consumption. .
Despite this, the amount of resources involved in food intake and its production throughout the world is the greatest subject of debate. The calculations of the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) estimate that crops take 70% of the total water footprint. For this reason, the methods of the meat industries in the maintenance of animals are the subject of discussion.
In this sense, the Water Footprint Network is clear: it is committed to grazing systems instead of industrial processes. It also reflects that the consumption of meat is much less sustainable, in terms of water consumption, than that of fruit and vegetables.
The problem of the water footprint will be one of the most present at the Climate Summit
For all this, the problem of the water footprint will be one of the most present at the Climate Summit to be held in Madrid and which has the protection of ocean water among its main objectives in this edition. Spain, according to data from the Water Footprint Network, has the eighth largest footprint in the world, with 6,700 liters per person per day. Mongolia has the highest in the world, with 10,000.
Both have to face a peremptory measure to reduce the impact on a resource that is far from inexhaustible. The progressive implementation of organic farming, the ban on the use of fertilizers and pesticides on crops, the commitment to recycling water through its treatment are some of the measures aimed at the agricultural and industrial sectors, but human beings also have their action plot.
In this regard, the conclusions of the experts led by Hoesktra are forceful: they recommend changing a diet with a high meat content to a vegetarian diet or significantly reducing the amount of meat towards products with lower production costs, reducing the coffee for the benefit of water and the preference of clothing made of artificial fibers instead of cotton. A melting pot of small acts to combat what is already a global problem.
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