the water footprint of livestock products
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Presented by Arjen Hoekstra, University of Twente, the Netherlands, at the Livestock Live Talk at ILRI, Nairobi, 7 February 2013TRANSCRIPT
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
Source: Hoekstra & Mekonnen (2012) The Water Footprint of Humanity, PNAS
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
Source: Hoekstra & Mekonnen (2012) The Water Footprint of Humanity, PNAS
The spatial distribution of the water footprint within Europe
Source: Hoekstra & Mekonnen (2012) The Water Footprint of Humanity, PNAS
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 & Mekonnen (2012) The Water Footprint of Humanity, PNAS
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
Source: Hoekstra et al. (2011) The Water Footprint Assessment Manual, Earthscan, London, UK
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
Source: Hoekstra et al. (2011) The Water Footprint Assessment Manual, Earthscan, London, UK
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
Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems
► 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
Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems
The two major factors
Feed conversion
0
20
40
60
80
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kg fe
ed (d
ry m
ass)
/kg
outp
ut
Concentrate feed in total feed dry matter
0
20
40
60
80
100
indu
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poultry pork beef
%
► 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.
Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems
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
Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems
► 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
Source: Mekonnen & Hoekstra (2012) A global assessment of the water footprint of farm animal products, Ecosystems
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.
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.
Meat versus vegetarian diet
Meat diet kcal/day litre/kcal litre/day Vegetarian diet
kcal/day litre/kcal litre/day
Animal origin
350 2.5 875 Animal origin 200 2.5 500
Vegetable origin
2350 0.5 1175 Vegetable origin
2500 0.5 1250
Total 2700 2050 Total 2700 1750
Developing countries:
Source: Hoekstra (2013) The Water Footprint of Modern Consumer Society, Routledge, London, UK.
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
www.waterfootprint.org
www.waterfootprint.org