Green Calgary

Industrial Farming has Really, Really Big Feet

Reader Question

Hello Ashley,

I try to be conscious as I can, purchasing environmentally sustainable products and food and taking actions to reduce my energy use. Where I am struggling though is with my water consumption. I have tap aerators throughout my house and only shampoo my hair twice a week to cut down on my shower time. But I recently learnt about the concept of virtual water and water footprints. I was shocked to learn the amount of embedded water in the food I buy. Do you have any suggestions about how I can reduce my embedded water consumption?

Thanks,
Kate

Ashley's Answer

Hello Kate,

Water is the essence of life and here in Canada we are truly blessed to live in a country with such a high proportion of the world’s fresh water supply. Many of our largest cities sit next to great bodies of water and a large proportion of Canadians recreate in and around water. We interact with it daily to shower, wash our dishes, and to fill our water bottles but, as you correctly noted, much of the water that we “use” remains concealed in the consumer goods that we buy and in the food that we eat.

According to the Water Footprint Network (WFN), Canadians consume between 1.8 and 2.1 million litres of water per person, per year. This means that, on average, Canadians are using nearly 5,500 litres of water per person, per day. In Calgary, we know that direct water use – that is, the water coming from the tap, shower head, sprinkler, et cetera – is roughly 500 litres of water per person, per day. If we do the math we can see that our indirect water use is roughly 10 times that of our direct water use. This “embedded” water is in everything we buy, from cars to coffee to steak.

Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy, writes that 70% of all water consumed globally is used for crop irrigation, making modern-day food production an extremely water intense endeavour. To demonstrate this the WFN has conducted several in-depth analysis’, finding that nearly 16 thousand litres of water is required to produce a single kilogram of beef, while 140 litres of water is needed to produce a cup of coffee. These numbers are nothing short of amazing and, for individuals interested in the water required to sustain their own diet, a calculator is available on the website. Each section – cereal, meat, vegetables, fruit, dairy, etc - is broken down and the water requirement for each is displayed.

What is immediately apparent from using the calculator is that a diet with a large percentage of animal products has a much greater water footprint than one that is based strictly on grains and vegetables. This is because much of the grain grown in North America goes to fattening animals. It is fed to cows, pigs and chickens to create milk, meat and eggs. By feeding animals food crops, instead of humans eating them directly, a large percentage of water and energy is lost along the way. This is why Michael Pollan, in his new book In Defense of Food, advises readers that if we are to create a sustainable food system that we will need to shift from a heavily animal-based diet to one that derives most of its calories from plants. This will also address the other challenge to the modern-day industrial food system – a heavy reliance on cheap oil.

Fossil fuels are used to produce fertilizer, power farm machinery, irrigate fields, make pesticides, dry grain, as well as all the other tasks involved with industrial farming. Add to this the energy required to process, package and distribute the food around the world and you end up with a situation where 10 calories of fossil fuel are used to produce a single calorie of food. Clearly this cannot be sustained forever. If a sustainable food system is to be created, we will have to find ways to balance all of the impacts associated with growing food. But how?

This simplest way is to support small, organic farms. The most recent USDA Census of Agriculture reports that smaller farms produce far more food per acre than large industrial ones, while using land, water, and oil much more efficiently. Small producers tend also to have a greater appreciation for the land, and by talking directly with the people that grow our food, we are able to reestablish a connection to the land. Farmers Markets are a great way to meet farmers one-on-one and World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF) Canada is a terrific organization that connects farmers with people looking to volunteer on farms, some of which are just outside Calgary.

Finally, if you’re willing to take it one step further, plant a garden, either at home or at one of Calgary’s community gardens. This is perhaps one of the greatest ways to gain a true appreciation for the amount of time, energy and water that is required to make something grow. It’s empowering, humbling and you’ll never look at rain the same way again.

Locally,
Ashley

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