How is Fresh Water Used?
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"Agriculture uses far more freshwater
worldwide—70 percent of the global total—than any other human activity. Much
of this water goes to crop irrigation, but a significant proportion (about 8
percent of the total) is used to raise animals for “meat,” dairy and eggs” (FEP,
2014)
By in large, the biggest use of fresh water globally is agricultural. The water used to produce the food we eat, is massive by comparison to any other use. “Irrigating crops fed to animals raised for food is by far the industry’s main use of water…, 253 million tons of grain are fed to these animals in the US every year, requiring a total of 66 trillion gallons of water to produce. Animal agriculture also uses water for: hydration (providing water for animals to drink); cleaning (hosing down animals and facilities, and flushing out waste); processing (slaughter, evisceration and de-boning); rendering (turning unused body parts into by-products); and leather tanning (soaking hides to remove salt and dirt).” (FEP, 2014)
Another large consumer of water is industrial use. This is used in the production of goods and energy for consumption by the public. The last source is domestic, which is people's water consumption in the form of showering, drinking, toilets and so forth.
The first image shows which areas around the world consume the most water in these three areas, while the second shows stats from around the world about water usage:
By in large, the biggest use of fresh water globally is agricultural. The water used to produce the food we eat, is massive by comparison to any other use. “Irrigating crops fed to animals raised for food is by far the industry’s main use of water…, 253 million tons of grain are fed to these animals in the US every year, requiring a total of 66 trillion gallons of water to produce. Animal agriculture also uses water for: hydration (providing water for animals to drink); cleaning (hosing down animals and facilities, and flushing out waste); processing (slaughter, evisceration and de-boning); rendering (turning unused body parts into by-products); and leather tanning (soaking hides to remove salt and dirt).” (FEP, 2014)
Another large consumer of water is industrial use. This is used in the production of goods and energy for consumption by the public. The last source is domestic, which is people's water consumption in the form of showering, drinking, toilets and so forth.
The first image shows which areas around the world consume the most water in these three areas, while the second shows stats from around the world about water usage:
“Water that is used in food production is [called] “virtual” because it is not contained anymore in the product, even though a great deal of it was used in the production process” (Barlow, 2007).