Re:Rural America Is Gearing Up for a Generation of Change
by voakbasda on Saturday August 28, 2021 @12:01AM
(#28335537)
I raise beef and dairy on my farm. My milk cow can produce several gallons per day. She drinks at most 20 gallons of water on a hot day. Water scarcity is a huge problem, but the numbers quoted above are completely bogus. In truth, beef can improve the ability of land to capture water by creating fertility in poor soil, as the resulting vegetation leads to increased water retention.
According to this article it takes 1847 gallons of water to make 1 lb of beef and 122 to make one gallon of milk, compared to 39 for 1 lb of vegetables:
https://www.denverwater.org/tap/whats-the-beef-with-water
Admittedly, that water doesn't disappear and stays in the water cycle, but every lb of beef that is reduced from the diet saves enough water to supply a household of 4 for almost a week (assuming 80 gallons per person/day)
With the droughts due to climate change interfering with the water cycle and changing the actual local climates of farming areas, without change happening it may become a requirement to drastically reduce the amount of beef that we consume in order to have enough water to survive.
Either that or we will need to start catching rain as it falls on the ocean and shipping it in to make up for the overuse.