How Many Gallons of Water Tp Rproduce 3 Ounces of Beef
The h2o footprint of meat is a higher number than many people might realize. While many Americans wait to consume a certain corporeality of meat, and they might think, "Well, I don't consume that much," they might exist surprised by merely how much meat (and dairy) they actually consume every day. This is an of import consideration considering the water footprint of meat and dairy tin exist much higher than that of plant foods. With a picayune awareness and guidance from the USDA, it's like shooting fish in a barrel to meet daily protein needs without consuming so much meat.
Americans eat a lot of meat and dairy
Here's a quiz: How many pounds of meat does the average American eat every year? The answer might exist a petty shocking to some. According to USDA information, in 2021, Americans ate nigh 225 pounds of red meat and poultry, which works out to more than half a pound a day. Many probably call up, "I don't eat that much meat," but if they kept track, they might be surprised by only how much meat (and dairy, for that affair) they really eat.
The Water Footprint Calculator (WFC) includes questions virtually nutrition, specifically near how much meat and dairy people swallow in a 24-hour interval. Every bit many users have discovered, their diet can be the most pregnant component of their daily water footprint, especially if they swallow a lot of meat and dairy. Just what does that hateful and why do people underestimate their consumption by so much? Only how much is 1 portion of meat and dairy and how much should we eat in a day?
Daily Meat Consumption in the US
As shown in Figure 1, US per capita consumption of beef, pork, lamb and poultry has hovered around 200 pounds per yr but has been steadily increasing since the 1970s. This is an important consideration when it comes to h2o conservation because meat and dairy production has a big h2o footprint. The actual number varies from animal to animal and depends on where the and how the animals were raised – whether they were grass-fed or grain-fed – and whether or not their feed came from irrigated crops.
Take beef, for example. The water footprint of meat is contested by some in the livestock industry who disagree with how the water footprint is calculated. Nevertheless, enquiry suggests that, on average, it takes about 1800 gallons of water to produce ane pound of beef, which translates to around 450 gallons for a quarter-pound hamburger.
Interestingly, since 1970, the data indicates that the trend is for Americans to eat less beef and more pork and chicken. In 1970, per capita disappearance of beef (USDA-speak for consumption) was 85 pounds, whereas in 2017 that number had dropped to 57 pounds.
Figure 1. US per Capita Consumption of Beef, Pork, Lamb and Poultry
Meat and Dairy Portion Sizes
One reason why it'south difficult for people to discern portion sizes, co-ordinate to the National Institutes of Health, is that portion sizes in the U.s. take doubled or even tripled over the terminal twenty years. Our sense of what constitutes a serving has become skewed. A McDonald'due south hamburger patty (the original McDonald's Burger® ) has one.6 ounces of beef, while a Big Mac® has twice that amount at three.2 ounces, a Quarter Pounder® has 4 ounces, and now there's even a Double Quarter Pounder® that features a full eight ounces (a half a pound) of beef. People may be getting amend economic value when they get bigger portions for a few pennies more, merely there is a loftier environmental cost associated with that value.
It's difficult to guess what a USDA-recommended portion of beef, craven or cheese looks like. Visual cues are helpful; for case:
- A portion of meat varies from the size of a deck of cards to a checkbook (3 ounces)
- A portion of cheese is the size of three dice (1 ½ ounces)
- A portion of yogurt is the size of a baseball game (ane cup)
Meat and Dairy Serving Recommendations
A much more complicated upshot is determining how much meat and dairy people should consume on a daily ground. The USDA's MyPlate nutrition guidelines practise non make blanket recommendations about meat and dairy. Their guidance states instead that, "The amount of food from the Protein [and Dairy] Foods Group you lot demand to eat depends on age, sexual practice and level of physical activeness." All the same, MyPlate by and large recommends 5 to vi ounces of "protein equivalents" per twenty-four hours for adults which includes beans, nuts and eggs in addition to meat. Information technology besides recommends 3 cups of "dairy equivalents" per day, which include cheese, yogurt and calcium-fortified soymilk.
Clearly, people in the The states are exceeding this guidance each 24-hour interval. Call up, there is protein in tofu, beans, quinoa, leafy green vegetables and many other foods, and then these foods can help reduce the amount of meat required to meet daily poly peptide needs. The MyPlate guidelines are a useful starting point, of form, but ultimately people have to listen to their ain bodies and exercise what feels best for them. And the h2o footprint of tofu is significantly less than the water footprint of meat and dairy.
Past existence more than conscious of how much meat and dairy they actually eat and trying some of the non-meat protein sources mentioned above, people tin make significant reductions in their daily h2o footprint. In this case, being "beneath boilerplate" is a good matter for the health of the planet. If people are making a conscious try to reduce their water footprint, eating a little less meat is a great way to do it.
Find out the water footprint of over 100 food items with the Water Footprint of Food Guide.
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The food people eat has an impact on their wellness, the environs and on the welfare of animals and workers. FoodPrint has many tools and resources to help people eat sustainably.
Source: https://www.watercalculator.org/footprint/meat-portions-900-gallons/
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