How much water is needed to produce meat?

The record goes to beef: 15 liters per kilogram. The lowest value is rabbit meat: 3.300 liters. In Italy, water is used less than the EU average.

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I consume water to produce meat
Meat is produced by consuming a large quantity of water, although the values ​​vary based on the territory, the type of meat and also the production methods (in Italy, for example, a reasonable efficiency in meat production allows for lower water consumption than the world average).
 

Water consumption by type of meat

ll water footprint (water footprint) of meat has been studied by several organizations, such as Water Footprint Network e FAO, and is expressed in liters of water per kg of meat produced. These are the most significant values, i.e., the number of liters of water consumed to produce one kilogram of meat of the different types:
  • Beef (bovine) 15.000 liters
  • Pork (swine) 6.000 liters
  • Chicken 4.300 liters
  • Sheep/lamb 10.400 liters
  • Rabbit meat 3.300 liters, on average.

How to calculate the water footprint

Il  water footprint It is given by the sum of three contributions, partly real and partly virtual: the evapotranspiration water used by plants to live (green water), the water actually used by production processes or to irrigate fields (blue water) and the water virtually necessary to dilute and purify the wastewater (gray water). For agri-food products, the “green water” component is by far the most significant of the three, accounting for almost all of the impact.

Overall, the entire meat sector (beef, poultry, and pork) uses 80-90% of its water resources, which are part of the natural water cycle and are returned to the environment as rainwater; therefore, only 10-20% of the water needed to produce 1 kg of meat is actually consumed.

Water footprint for producing meat in Italy

Il water footprint The total amount of water used to produce 1 kg of beef in Italy is 11.500 litres (25% less than the world average of 15.415 litres), and only 13% (1.495 litres) of this is actually consumed. The remaining 87% is therefore made up of "green water", i.e. rain water used in the cultivation of raw materials for animal feed.

The reasons for the lower volume of water used in Italian production are to be found in the national livestock system, which, based on a combination of extensive and intensive farming, allows for good efficiency in terms of resources used per kg of meat produced. Furthermore, it is worth noting that Italian beef production occurs predominantly in the most suitable areas and with the greatest availability of water (for example, along the Po River and its tributaries).

The hamburger holds the record for the lowest meat consumption

The type of meat that requires the least water consumption is the burgerFor a 100-gram cut, 180 liters of water are enough. A very low percentage, even compared to the numbers for plant-based substitutes. Keep in mind that a 150-gram soy burger, again according to the Water Footprint Network's calculations, uses 160 liters of water.

How much meat do we consume?

From the 1960s to the 1990s, meat consumption around the world increased fivefold, from 45 million tons in 1950 to 300 million today. And according to the FAO, these numbers are set to double in a rather short timeframe: by 2050. Obviously, the distribution of meat consumption, as with any "rich" diet, is uneven across the world. In industrialized countries, annual meat availability per person is 80 kilograms, compared to an average of just 20 kilograms in Africa. And China's long march is also confirmed by the meat consumption trend, which has increased a full 15-fold in the last 50 years. In Italy, we consume 110 grams of meat per day, and 190 grams of cured meats per week.

So much for consumption. But how much meat should we eat to avoid health risks and waste a food that has great benefits for our bodies? We could cite an endless list of scientific studies on the risks of excessive meat consumption, but let's limit ourselves to one fact, especially given the reliability of the source. The World Cancer Research Fund recommends no more than 300 grams of red meat per week, and allows this limit to be raised only to 500 grams for populations, like Americans, accustomed to excessive meat consumption.

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