The water footprint of livestock products

Livestock Live Talk at ILRI, Nairobi, 7 February 2013

The water footprint of livestock products

Arjen HoekstraUniversity of Twente, the Netherlands

The total water footprint of the average consumer in the world

3.8% of the water footprint relates to home water use

22% of the water footprint does not lie within the country of the consumer, but other parts of the world

96.2% of the water footprint is ‘invisible’, related to the products bought on the market

91.5% agricultural products, 4.7% industrial products

Source: Hoekstra & Mekonnen (2012) The Water Footprint of Humanity, PNAS

3800 litre/day

Global average water footprint

Water footprint of national consumption


Animalproducts

Animalproducts

► The water footprint of the agricultural sector is 92% of the total water footprint of humanity.

► The water footprint of animal production is 29% of the water footprint of the global agricultural sector.

The water footprint of animal products

Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems

Meat consumption per capita

Source: FAOSTAT (2010). Data for 2007.

India 3.3 kg/yrKenya 16 kg/yr

Global average 47 kg/yrUK 86 kg/yrUSA 123 kg/yr

World meat production

► Globalization of water

► The water footprint concept

► The water footprint of animal products

► What can we do?

Overview of presentation

The spatial distribution of the water footprint of humanity


The spatial distribution of the water footprint within Europe


41% of the water footprint of European consumers is outside Europe

soybeancoffee

soybeanwheat

cotton

cotton,industrialproducts

wheat, sunflower seed, cotton, industrial products

soybean,sunflower seed

cottoncoffee

cocoa

cotton

Europe: the world’s largest virtual water import region


Source: Hoekstra et al. (2012) Global monthly water scarcity: blue water footprints versus blue water availability, PLoS ONE

Number of months with blue water scarcity > 100%

Blue water scarcity = blue water footprint / blue water availability

The water footprintconcept

the volume of fresh water used to produce the product, summed over the various steps of the production chain.

when and where the water was used:a water footprint includes a temporal and spatial dimension.

The water footprint of a product

Source: Hoekstra et al. (2011) The Water Footprint Assessment Manual, Earthscan, London, UK

Green water footprintvolume of rainwater evaporated or

incorporated into a product

Blue water footprintvolume of surface or groundwater

evaporated or incorporated into a product

Grey water footprintvolume of polluted water

The water footprint of a product


Direct water footprint Indirect water footprint

Green water footprint Green water footprint

Blue water footprint Blue water footprint

Grey water footprint Grey water footprint

Waterconsumption

Water pollution

Gross water withdrawal

Traditionalwater usestatistics

Components of a water footprint


Return flow= Net water withdrawal

The water footprintof animal products

litre/kg litre/kcal

starchy roots 400 0.5

cereals 1600 0.5

sugar crops 200 0.7

pulses 4000 1.1

vegetables 300 1.3

fruits 1000 2.1

pork 6000 2.2

poultry 4000 3.0

beef 15000 10.2

Global average water footprint

The water footprint of food


► 146 crops and over 200 derived crop products, including various flours, beverages, fibres and biofuels.

► global coverage

► high spatial resolution (5x5 arc minute grid)

►explicit distinction rainfed-irrigated

► explicit distinction green-blue-grey

The water footprint of crop products

Global water footprint of wheat

Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2010) The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, Value of Water Research Report Series No.47, UNESCO-IHE.

Global water footprint of soybean

Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2010) The green, blue and grey water footprint of crops and derived crop products, Value of Water Research Report Series No.47, UNESCO-IHE.

► six animal types

► global coverage

► per country

► explicit distinction extensive-mixed-intensive production systems

► accounting for composition and origin of animal feed

► explicit distinction green-blue-grey

The water footprint of animal products

Food► 1300 kg of grains

(wheat, oats, barley, corn, dry peas, soybean, etc)► 7200 kg of roughages

(pasture, dry hay, silage, etc)

Water► 24000 litres for drinking► 7000 litres for servicing

99%

1%

The water footprint of a cow

Source: Hoekstra & Chapagain (2008) Globalization of Water, Blackwell, Oxford, UK

The water footprint of beef

Source: Hoekstra & Chapagain (2008) Globalization of Water, Blackwell, Oxford, UK

Industrial systems

Mixed systems

Grazing systems Water footprint: •mostly green•local

Water footprint:•green-blue-grey•partly imported

Water footprint:•green-blue-grey•local

Dryland

Wetland

Grazing indry- and wetlands:

water footprint has a low opportunity cost

Factory farming:

water footprint has a high opportunity cost

Water footprint of an animal product

Feed conversion efficiency

Feed composition concentrates vs. roughages

Type of production system

grazing, mixed or industrial

organic or conventional

Feed origin organic or conventional

rain-fed or irrigated imported or local

Water footprint of the feed

Water footprint related to drinking and other on-farm

activities

The two major factors

The water footprint of an animal product


The two major factors

Feed conversion

0

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Concentrate feed in total feed dry matter

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%

► feed conversion improves from grazing to industrial systems.

► but at the cost of more high-nutrient concentrate feed with a larger water footprint than roughages.


Food item

Water footprint

Litre per kg Litre per kcal Litre per gram protein Litre per gram fat

Sugar crops 197 0.69 0.0 0.0

Vegetables 322 1.34 26 154

Starchy roots 387 0.47 31 226

Fruits 962 2.09 180 348

Cereals 1644 0.51 21 112

Oil crops 2364 0.81 16 11

Pulses 4055 1.19 19 180

Nuts 9063 3.63 139 47

Milk 1020 1.82 31 33

Eggs 3265 2.29 29 33

Chicken meat 4325 3.00 34 43

Butter 5553 0.72 - 6.4

Pig meat 5988 2.15 57 23

Sheep/goat meat 8763 4.25 63 54

Bovine meat 15415 10.19 112 153

The water footprint of animal versus vegetal products


► The water footprint of any animal product is larger than the water footprint of a wisely chosen crop product with equivalent nutritional value.

The water footprint of animal versus vegetal products


Meat versus vegetarian diet

Meat diet kcal/day litre/kcal litre/day Vegetarian diet

kcal/day litre/kcal litre/day

Animal origin

950 2.5 2375 Animal origin

300 2.5 750

Vegetable origin

2450 0.5 1225 Vegetable origin

3100 0.5 1550

Total 3400 3600 Total 3400 2300

Industrialised countries:

Source: Hoekstra (2013) The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society, Routledge, London, UK.




Animal origin

950 2.5 2375 Animal origin 300 2.5 750

Vegetable origin


3100 0.5 1550

Total 3400 3600 Total 3400 2300

Industrialised countries:





Animal origin

350 2.5 875 Animal origin 200 2.5 500

Vegetable origin


2500 0.5 1250

Total 2700 2050 Total 2700 1750

Developing countries:


What can we do?

Feed crop cultivation Livestock raising

Reduce green

water footprint

- Increase green water productivity more

production from rain-fed lands

From industrial towards grazing or mixed systems

- Reduce concentrate feed

- Increase fraction of roughages

Preferably grazing in areas unsuitable for crop

growth (dry lands, wetlands, mountains)Reduce blue

water footprint

- Towards supplementary or deficit irrigation

- Precision irrigation

Reduce grey

water footprint

Organic or precision farming:

reduce use of fertilisers and pesticides

- No preventive antibiotics

- No excessive manure

Reducing the water footprint of animal products

Shared terminology & calculation standards

– Global Water Footprint Standard

Product transparency– water footprint reporting / disclosure

– labelling of products

– certification of businesses

Quantitative footprint reduction targets– benchmarking

Reducing humanity’s water footprint – Companies

The Water Footprint Assessment Manual Earthscan, London, UK, 2011

Mission: Promoting sustainable, equitable and efficient water use through development of shared standards on water footprint accounting and guidelines for the reduction and offsetting of impacts of water footprints.

Network: bringing together expertise from academia, businesses, civil society, governments and international organisations.

The Water Footprint Network

Overview of partners Water Footprint Network

Partners by category

XL company 30

Large company 10

Medium company 23

Small company 33

Government 10

International organisation 9

Academic Institute 29

Civil society / ngo 25

www.waterfootprint.org

www.waterfootprint.org

The water footprint of livestock products

Technology

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