Shrinking My Water Footprint: How Much Water Do We Use and Where Does it Comes From?

Sometime ago I came across an excellent resource, the Water Footprint Network, that tries to calculate "virtual water" footprints, i.e., the water embedded in the many traded commodities and products that countries import or export, and that I consume. According to the site, it takes 16,000 liters of water to produce a kilo of beef, 5,000 liters for one kilogram of cheese, 3,000 liters to produce a kilo of rice (one of the most water-intensive grains), 1,800 liters for one kilo of soy beans, 50 liters for one 100 gram orange, and 170 liters for a 200 ml. glass of orange juice.

The site also provides the water footprint of a few plant- and animal-derived non-food products. Unfortunately, our knowledge is still in too preliminary a stage for it to provide the water footprint for complex industrial products such as synthetic clothes, plastics, electronic equipment and so on. Granted, these calculations are still not 100 percent accurate. For example, the Web site does not take into account the specific geographical location where a commodity is grown/produced, since depending on the specific agro-ecological conditions, the water footprint of a crop will vary. Nor does it take into account the water quality impact of the production process. But it is a very good first step, and gives plenty of water for thought.