How much water is needed to produce food?

                                       

How much water is needed to produce food and how much do we waste?
As much as 50% of all food produced in the world ends up as waste every year according to figures from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. But how much water is needed to produce it? Between 500 and 4,000 litres of water are required to produce 1kg of wheat according to a report into food wastage published today.

As much as 2bn tonnes of food are wasted every year - equivalent to 50% of all food produced - according to a report published today by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IME). They estimate that 30-50% (1.2-2bn tonnes) of all food produced is "lost before reaching a human stomach". They also blame the "staggering" new figures in its analysis on unnecessarily strict sell-by dates, buy-one-get-one free and Western consumer demand for cosmetically perfect food, along with "poor engineering and agricultural practices", inadequate infrastructure and poor storage facilities.
Major supermarkets have also been blamed for food waste by rejecting crops of edible fruit and vegetables which don't meet their exacting standards for their physical characteristics (such as size and color). Up to 30% of the UK's vegetable crop is never harvested due to this type of practice the report claims.

The publication entitled-Global food: waste not, want not' also aims to highlight the wastage of energy, land and water. Approximately 3.8tn cubic meters of water is used by humans annually with 70% being consumed by the global agriculture sector. The amount of water wasted globally in growing crops that never reach the consumer is estimated at 550bn cubic meters.IME claim that water requirements to meet food demand in 2050 could reach between 10-13.5tn cubic meters per year - about triple the current amount used annually by humans.

Meat production requires a much higher amount of water than vegetables. To produce 1kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 liters of water whereas to produce 1kg of wheat requires between 500 and 4,000 liters of water. Surprisingly, to produce 1kg of vegetables by hydroponics requires only 1 liter. The future agriculture has emerged up from above water consumption comparison, which is HYDROPONICS.

Food/Qty/Water Liter
Chocolate	1 kg	17,196
Beef	1 kg	15,415
Sheep Meat	1 kg	10,412
Pork	1 kg	5,988
Butter	1 kg	5,553
Chicken meat	1 kg	4,325
Cheese	1 kg	3,178
Olives	1 kg	3,025
Rice	1 kg	2,497
Cotton	1 @ 250g	2,495
Pasta (dry)	1 kg	1,849
Bread	1 kg	1,608
Pizza	1 unit	1,239
Apple	1 kg	822
Banana	1 kg	790
Potatoes	1 kg	287
Milk	1 x 250ml glass	255
Cabbage	1 kg	237
Tomato	1 kg	214
Egg	1 kg	196
Wine	1 x 250ml glass	109
Beer	1 x 250ml glass	74
Tea	1 x 250 ml cup	27
Hydroponics Crop	1 kg	1

The table above shows the typical values for the volume of water required to produce common foodstuffs. Chocolate tops the list with 17,196 liters of water need to produce 1kg of the product. Beef, sheep and pork meat all require high volumes of water for production also. Tea, beer and wine use the least according to the list. Compared to the production of meat, vegetable foodstuffs require considerably less water - 1kg of potatoes for example uses 287 liters of water.

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