As much as we try to conserve water at home, it's not going to be enough without substantial change in livestock production.
Enormous Water Use: A Few Statistics
- Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US. (Jacobson, 2006)
- Californians use 1500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to half is associated with meat and dairy products (Fulton et al., 2012)
- 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef. (Pimentel et al., 2004) This figure accounts for the immense water used to grow feed for livestock, the water the animals drink, and the water in the industrial processes of slaughtering and packing the meat.
- Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70-140 billion gallons annually (EPA, 2013). Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually (Pimental et al., 2004).
- Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today. (Gerbens-Leenes et al., 2013)
This image is of a feedlot in Nebraska; since feedlots are not required to treat their waste, it pollutes and poisons the water and air.