Virtual Water

There is actually hidden water in the food we eat and in the objects we use. It is also known as the water footprint and it is the total volume of fresh water used in the entire production chain. The figures are quite surprising: to produce a canned drink, 200 litres are required (most of which is used to cultivate and to refine the sugar), for a T-shirt, 2,700 litres, for a cappuccino, more than 200 litres, and for a T-bone steak, 15,400 litres!
We will explain why, by taking the steak as an example.

1. in the production chain, the steer/heifer is raised for three years;
2. over the three-year period, it consumes about 1,300 kg of grain, which takes 3,060,000 litres of water to cultivate;
3. it will also drink about 24,000 litres of water to quench its thirst;
4. 7,000 litres will be used by the breeding structures and slaughtering houses;
5. therefore, the total amount of water used will be 3,091,000 litres for a total production of 200 kg of meat: about 15,400 litres for a 1 kg steak.

Here are some more surprising examples:
1 egg: 140 litres
1 cheese and tomato pizza: 1,260 litres
1 cup of coffee: 140 litres
1 glass of milk: 200 litres
1 pair of shoes: 8,000 litres
1 750 ml bottle of wine: 720 litres
1 bar of chocolate: 2,700 litres
1 pair of jeans: 11,000 litres
1 car: up to 400,000 litres
1 smartphone: 13,000 litres

In industrialised countries, we consume about 3,500 litres of virtual water per day per person, and that is only taking into account what we eat! 2,500 litres if we are vegetarians, 5,000 litres if we our diet is meat-based. It is an enormous quantity, also considering that on our planet over 1 billion people suffer from thirst. And the available water resources, owing to population growth, climate change and pollution, are very likely to decrease… Let’s reflect on this and consider how to change the way we consume in order to make our actions more sustainable.

Solution
As you have probably already guessed, the correct answer is number 3!