When talking about our water footprint we may think of how much water we use to shower or wash a load of laundry, and perhaps not so much about how much water is required to produce the foods we eat. In fact, we use more water through food consumption than through direct use! This fact really surprised me and I became curious on how to reduce my water consumption and create a more eco-friendly food footprint through this change. I originally thought that I would have a small food footprint and wouldn’t be using a lot of water in my diet since I am a vegetarian; however, I quickly learned that although meat requires the most amount of water to produce, it isn’t the only food product with a high water consumption level. Foods like almonds and other animal products, like dairy or eggs also use a lot of water.
After establishing a baseline and researching specific water usage for certain foods, I discovered that several of my foods of choice, such as nuts, yogurt, and cheese, required a lot of water to produce. My water consumption also really surprised me. Apparently in one week I used approximately 15, 836L of water by simply eating food! I then realized that I had to change my eating habits and alter my diet to account for water usage. Although chocolate milk, Nutella, and chocolate bars are tasty, they’re not the healthiest things to consume and they negatively affect the planet. Knowing this, it was easier to cut these treats out of my diet completely. It was harder, and more intimidating, to remove almonds, greek yogurt, and even cheese from my diet, since I eat these foods almost everyday and they’re an important and necessary source of protein for me. Knowing I wouldn’t be able to fully cut out yogurt from my diet, I decided to settle for a better, more eco-friendly alternative: regular yogurt rather than greek yogurt. By making this switch, and by decreasing my weekly yogurt consumption from daily/every second day to only 3 times a week, I have cut down my water footprint by approximately 1, 270 L /week. I also significantly cut down cheese consumption, which is healthier for me too due to cheese’s high fat content. I haven’t bought any more cheese from the grocery store since finishing off the last block. It’s also been easy to adapt my meals in Cap’s Bistro to be more water-friendly. I began exchanging cheese slices for extra veggies at the sandwich bar, and I stopped ordering olives as well, since they’re one of the fruits that requires a large amount of water to produce (3015L/kg). This change has further reduced my water consumption by approximately 300L.
Perhaps one of the most significant alterations to my diet, and subsequently my food footprint, has been my removal of almonds and almond butter from my diet. Before, during the baseline week, I consumed approximately 140g of almonds and 28 servings of almond butter (I know, it’s a lot), which resulted in me using roughly 4,381L. This is a shocking amount, and while I have cut out almonds, I have found it challenging to quit eating other types of nuts altogether. I have continued eating walnuts and hazelnuts since they’re ingredients in my favourite homemade granola bars. These nuts are better alternatives since they require less water to produce than almonds (2532.44L less), but they’re still not the best alternative because of their higher than average water footprint. After I finish eating my granola bars I will stop eating nuts for the remainder of the term and see what difference that makes with my food footprint.
References:
Mekonnen, M., Hoekstra, A., & Chapagain, A. (2005). Personal calculator – extended. Retrieved from http://waterfootprint.org/en/resources/interactive-tools/personal-water-footprint-calculator/personal-calculator-extended/
Lurie, J. (2017, June 24). It takes HOW much water to make Greek yogurt?! Retrieved from https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/california-water-suck/
Kim, K., Schleuss, J., & Krishnakumar, P. (n.d.). Eating the drought: How much water goes into your meal? Retrieved from http://graphics.latimes.com/food-water-footprint/
Food’s Big Water Footprint. (2018, October 10). Retrieved from https://www.watercalculator.org/water-use/water-in-your-food/foods-big-water-footprint/
Reducing Our Food's Water Footprint 