Arjen Hoekstra developed the idea of a water footprint in the early 2000s. A water footprint measures the amount of water used in any process or activity, much like a carbon or ecological footprint does. When agricultural, packaging, and shipping operations that are involved in providing the food we eat are taken into account, the results are astounding. It turns out that getting food from the farms to our tables requires a surprisingly large amount of water, with beef being the main consumer.
Producing beef and other animal products typically requires more water than producing fruits and vegetables because cattle have mouths to feed. A beef cow consumes thousands of pounds of grass, corn, and soybeans throughout its lifetime, according to Denver Water, and water is a resource that is necessary to support all of these crops. That explains why meat from beef cattle has a significantly higher water footprint than meat from other, smaller animals.
Facts about water use and other environmental impacts of beef production in Canada
Yes, producing beef requires water, but in the 2 Since our ancestors first began consuming meat five million years ago, we haven’t lost a single drop.
Based on the most recent science and extensive calculations of a wide range of factors, it is estimated that the pasture-to-plate journey of this important protein source requires about 1,910 US gallons per pound (or 15,944 litres per kilogram) of water to get Canadian beef to the dinner table. That’s what is known as the “water footprint” of beef production.
Although that may seem like a lot, the fact is that producing food requires water, regardless of the crop or animal being produced. Although it may seem like a lot of water at times, no water is wasted when a feed crop or cattle are produced. All water is recycled, sometimes in a very intricate biological process, and is then used once more.
Water requirements vary with animal size and temperature. But on average, a 1250 pound (567 kg) beef steer only drinks about 10 gallons (about 38 litres) of water per day to support its normal metabolic function. That’s pretty reasonable considering the average person in Canada uses about 59 gallons (223 litres) per day for consumption and hygiene. And according to the most recent Statistics Canada data, Canada’s combined household and industrial use of water is about 37.9 billion cubic meters annually (a cubic meter equals about 220 gallons or 1000 litres of water) — we humans are a water-consuming bunch.
But let’s get back to the beef sector. Agriculture in general and beef producers in particular have frequently been criticized for being high water consumers and even “wasters,” which has a negative impact on the environment. There is much more to this story than just 1,910 gallons of water being used to produce one pound of edible beef.
What accounts for the remaining water (footprint) needed for that 16-ounce steak if the beef animal only requires about 10 gallons of water per day to function? Frequently in research terms, the water measured in the total water footprint is divided into three color categories. The footprint includes an estimate of the amount of groundwater (blue) and surface water used to irrigate pastures, grow crops, process beef, etc.
The amount of water needed to reduce runoff from pastures, feed crops, and cattle operations is then measured, followed by a measurement of how much rain (green water) falls on pastures and feed crops. A global “water footprint” for beef is created by adding these blue, green, and grey numbers for cattle raised all over the world. It is worth noting that more than 95% of the water used in beef production is green water %E2%80%94 it is going to rain and snow whether cattle are on pasture or not And it’s crucial to keep in mind that all water used is recycled in some way.
If you consider a beef animal’s life cycle from birth to burger or pasture to pot roast, the 1,910 gallons per pound figure accounts for the moisture required to grow the grass the animal will eat on pasture as well as the hay, grain, and other feeds it will eat as it is finished to market weight. It also takes into account the water used in the assembly of a whole animal into retail cuts and portion sizes for the consumer. Every step of the process requires water.
Water is just part of a very large picture
First of all, all crops require moisture to grow, whether they are an annual crop (like wheat, canola, or peas) or a type of permanent or perennial forage stand (like alfalfa or bromegrass) used by cattle. (And it’s crucial to remember there are two main types of crops as we discuss various crops in the following paragraphs. Annual plants are the majority of field crops, including wheat, barley, and peas. Typically, they are sown in the spring, harvested in the fall, and then they disappear as winter approaches. Most pasture and forage crops are permanent or perennial plants. While domestic or tame forage species will continue to be productive for at least two or three years and frequently for many years before they need to be reseeded, native or natural grass species appear to live forever. ).
Both annual crops and forages are important in Canadian agriculture. But when people ask why we don’t simply grow more peas, beans, and lentils, the answer is more complicated than simply replacing every acre of pasture with a field of peas. Play to your strengths and take advantage of the land’s potential for the best possible use.
Water use for annual pulse crops such as peas, beans, and lentils is higher than for grass. For example, growing dry peas requires approximately 414,562 gallons of water per acre of land. Compare that to total Canadian beef production of about 2. It takes 57 million acres of land to grow the pasture, forage, and other feed for the cattle herd in order to produce 46 million pounds of beef, or 78,813 gallons per acre. This means that not every acre used to raise beef cattle is suitable for growing crops. The amount of water required by dry peas per acre is more than five times higher (414,652 78,813 = 5). 3) than the grass does. Many of the plots of land used to grow forage for beef cattle don’t get enough moisture or have the right soil conditions to support crop production, but they can still produce some grass species that do well in drier environments.
Beef industry plays an important diverse role
The truth is that other bovid species than modern-day beef cattle have walked on what is now considered Canadian agricultural land. For countless years, bison herds numbering up to 30 million roamed North America, including Canada, eating forages, adding nutrients (manure) to the soil, and coexisting in harmony with countless plant and animal species.
As long as they are managed properly, the five million beef cattle being raised on Canadian farms today can still make a valuable contribution to the environment, just like the bison did. Because they provide habitat for a variety of upland animal species, including migratory birds and endangered species, and migratory bird habitat diversity, beef cows and the pastures they graze on help to preserve Canada’s declining natural grassland ecosystems. The preservation of wetland ecosystems is also aided by properly managed grazing systems, and a variety of plants all contribute to the soil’s ability to absorb and store carbon from the atmosphere.
Where do cattle fit?
Forages (pastures and harvested roughage) account for approximately 80 percent of the feed used by beef cattle in Canada. Nearly a third (31 percent) of Canada’s agricultural land is pasture. This land is not suited for annual crop production, but it can grow grass, which needs to be grazed by animals to remain growing and productive.
Canada’s beef herd is primarily located in the prairies. The more northern growing seasons are too short for many crops, and the southern prairies are prone to drought. Compared to the prairies, Central and Eastern Canada typically receive more rain and have longer growing seasons, but not all of this farmland is suitable for growing crops. Most of this land is too swampy, stony, or bushy to be used for farming, but it can support grass growth. Grass that cattle live on for most of their lives.
Grass and other range and pasture plants contain fiber that people can’t digest, but cattle have a specialized microbial population in their stomach (rumen) that allows them to digest fiber, make use of the nutrients and convert them into high-quality protein that humans can digest. Beef cattle production allows us to produce nutritious protein on land that isn’t environmentally or climatically suited to cultivation and crop production.
Simply focusing on water use per pound of product ignores the water cycle. The water cycle is important – humans, wheat, corn, lentils, poultry, pork, eggs, milk, forages and beef production all use water, but they don’t use it up. They aren’t sponges that endlessly absorb water. Nearly all the water that people or cattle consume ends up back in the environment through manure, sweat, or water vapor.
We know that most of the water plants take up from the soil is transpired back into the air. Like city water, the water that beef processing facilities take out of the river at one end of the plant is treated and returns to the same river at the other end of the plant. New technologies to recycle and re-use water can reduce the amount of water needed for beef processing by 90 percent.
All types of plants, including pasture and hayland crops, aid in the capture and storage of carbon. Incorporating carbon dioxide into their roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and seeds, plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and release oxygen back into it. The majority of hay and pastureland are perennial plants, which grow extensive root systems that eventually decompose and contribute to soil carbon.
Because these permanent or perennial pastures are not cultivated and reseeded every year, the carbon sequestered by these plants remains in the soil rather than being released back into the atmosphere. As a result, numerous studies have documented that grasslands, which remain healthy with grazing cattle, have more carbon stored in the soil than adjacent annual cropland.
Pastures protect the soil
When soil is disturbed during the production of annual crops like wheat, barley, canola, peas, and lentils, soil carbon is released into the atmosphere. There is also the risk of soil erosion.
In Western Canada, our predecessors learned this the hard way. Not knowing any better about the impact of tillage of fields to produce crops, serious losses occurred across Canada —particularly notable on the prairies in the ‘Dirty Thirties’. Cultivation led to the loss of 40-50 percent of the organic carbon from prairie soils and 60-70 percent from central and eastern Canadian soils.
We learned from those mistakes and today, most annual crops are grown under reduced or no-till cropping systems — crops are seeded with minimal soil disturbance. Unlike commercial fertilizers, using manure as a fertilizer also replenishes organic matter in these soils.
This farm and others like it in the west were destroyed by erosion, droughts, and insect plagues. (Photo courtesy of.
The risk of soil loss from wind and water erosion is greatly reduced and stored carbon is kept in the soil by maintaining permanent grassland and perennial pastures. The point is that cattle do very well on productive agricultural land that is not ideal for growing annual crops.
Getting back to the water topic, aside from benefits noted earlier, these permanent grasslands and perennial pastures in fact help to conserve moisture as roots and plant matter help to improve soil structure and help rain and snow melt percolate down through the soil. That’s known as water infiltration. As a general rule, when lands are left undisturbed, only 10 percent of precipitation runs off the land, 40 percent evaporates and 50 percent goes down into the soil to enter both shallow and deep groundwater reserves. When soils are disturbed, water infiltration is reduced.
It’s not just dead roots that provide environmental benefits. Perennial forages have extensive root systems because they aren’t cultivated and frequently grow in dry environments.
The family of legumes is an illustration of one significant plant species. Legumes come in varieties that make great hay and pasture crops. They are known as forage legumes and most are perennial. However, there is an entire branch of the legume family that people eat at meals. These legumes, which include peas, beans, lentils, and chickpeas, are referred to as pulse crops. The majority of annual pulse crops are grown for human consumption, but even these yield byproducts (e.g. g. stems, pods, shrivelled seeds, etc. ) that cattle can transform into high-quality, nutrient-rich protein but which are not edible to humans.
What’s interesting about legumes is how they benefit the soil. For example, forage legumes like alfalfa develop roots that penetrate 53 to 63 percent deeper into the soil than chickpeas, lentils and other pulse crops. All legumes also have a natural ability to produce an important soil nutrient known as nitrogen. All legumes can “fix” or capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into soil nitrogen that can improve soil fertility. Forage legumes can fix up to twice as much nitrogen per acre in the soil as annual legume (or pulse) crop.
The permanent plant cover that forages provide is beneficial for areas that are subject to periodic flooding or drought. Because of the vegetation and roots, the soil is prevented from eroding, washing away in a flood, or blowing away during a drought.
Home on the range
Again, when you ask the question, why don’t we just grow more annual crops, remember that cattle and soil aren’t the only living things affected when grassland is converted to farmland. Grasslands also provide habitat for small and large mammals, hawks, nesting birds, songbirds and pollinating insects. Converting natural grassland to crop production results in considerable biodiversity loss, as the native plants, insects, birds and wildlife that require undisturbed natural habitats do not thrive nearly as well under annual cropping systems.
The majority of the native grasslands in Canada have already been used for crop production. This has caused significant population declines in some species, with some grassland bird species experiencing population declines of up to 87 percent. So maintaining pastures and grasslands has significant ecological benefits.
Crops and cattle go well together
It is not an all or nothing scenario — crops, cattle and grasslands need each other. For example, canola crops yield and ripen better when they are pollinated by bees. Because an entire field is seeded at the same time, all the canola plants flower at the same time, and each plant only flowers for two or three weeks. Grasslands provide a home for a wide range of plants that all flower at different times. That means bees have lots of plants to help support them during long periods when annual crops aren’t flowering. Over 140 bee species are resident in Canadian grasslands; bee abundance and diversity are positively related to the presence of grasslands.
Annual crops can also serve double duty. About eight million tonnes of barley were produced by Canadian farmers in 2018. Some of that was planted with varieties of malting barley, which yields barley suitable for the brewing industry. Even if the grain doesn’t meet brewing standards (for instance, due to weather-related issues), it can still be used as high-quality livestock feed. The 32 million tonnes of wheat produced annually are in a similar situation. If it doesn’t meet the standards for milling, export, or other industrial end uses, it can be used as high-quality cattle feed.
All part of a system
To reiterate, producing beef does require water, but on a larger scale, beef cattle are an essential component of an integrated system. Cattle require grass, and for it to remain healthy, it must be grazed. Grass also protects the soil, and healthy soil helps to retain moisture. Numerous species depend on plants for food and habitat. Grains unsuitable for human consumption also make excellent livestock feed. Cattle manure also serves as a valuable natural fertilizer for pastures and crops. The system as a whole produces a high-quality, nutritious source of protein for people.
Water is necessary for all food systems, but the most crucial thing to keep in mind is that it is not consumed. All water ultimately gets recycled.
To subscribe to the BCRC Blog and get email updates whenever new content is posted, click here.
Sharing and reprinting of articles from the BCRC Blog are welcomed and encouraged. Please mention the Beef Cattle Research Council and include its website address, www. BeefResearch. Ca, and email us at info@beefresearch to let us know you decided to share the article. ca.
We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. Contact us right away or start a public debate by posting your ideas below.
How much water is needed to produce a pound of beef?
FAQ
How much water does it take to produce 1 pound of chicken?
In the US to produce one pound (1 lb, 0. 4kg) of steak requires approximately 1,799 gallons of water, while a pound of pork uses 576 gallons and a pound of chicken uses 468 gallons.
How much water does it take to produce one pound of pork?
Water required to produce one pound (1 lb. ): Pork = 720 gallons of water. Chicken = 520 gallons of water.
Does a single pound of beef take on average 1800 gallons of water to produce?
Compared to vegetables, grains, and beans, meat has a much higher water footprint per pound. On average, 1,800 gallons of water are used to produce 1 pound of beef. 98 percent is used to water the grass, forage, and feed that cattle eat throughout their lifetime.
How many gallons of water does it take to make on pound of grain fed beef?
Beef’s Large Water Footprint The reason for this is that producing one pound of beef requires 1,800 gallons of water.