Agricultural Water and Food Supply

It takes lots of water to produce food for a family In fact, it takes 100 gallons of water to produce just one watermelon.

Here’s a sample of how much water an average person might “eat” in a day. (Courtesy of the California Farm Water Coalition):

Americans consume about 8 times more water in the food we eat than we do for standard household uses, such as brushing our teeth, washing our dishes and clothes, and showering. On average, it takes more than 800 gallons of water to grow the food you consume in ONE DAY. Below is a sample daily menu with the estimated quantity of water required to grow the ingredients in each meal.

Gallons of water required for food production

Breakfast
Gallons
Orange juice (8 fl. oz.) 49.1
One egg 62.7
One toast and butter 56.3
1/4 cantaloupe 40.0
Breakfast Total 208.1 gallons
Lunch: BBQ chicken sandwich Gallons
Chicken (4 oz.) 115.0
Wheat bread (2 slices) 21.2
Cheese (1 slice) 56.0
Toma to (1 oz.) 1.9
Lettuce (1/4 cup) 0.7
BBQ sauce(1/2 oz.) 1.6
Catsup (1/2 oz.) 1.6
White sugar (2 tsp.) 4.7
Vinegar and spices Water use unknown
Orange (4.6 oz.) 13.8
Water (12 fl. oz.) 0.2
Lunch Total 215.1 gallons
Dinner: Lasagna Gallons
Pasta (4 oz.) 71.8
Toma to sauce (6 oz.) 38.7
Cheese (3 oz.) 168.0
Ground beef (3 oz.) 82.51
Spices Water use unknown
Garlic Bread/Bread (1 slice) 10.6
Butter, 1 pat (.36 oz.) 45.7
Garlic Water use unknown
Salad
Lettuce (1/2 cup) 1.5
Toma to (2 oz.) 3.8
Other vegetables/spices Water use unknown
Milk (8 fl. oz.) 48.3
Dinner Total 470.9 gallons
One Day’s Total: 894.1 gallons

Courtesy of the California Farm Water Coalition (www.cfwc.com).
Derived from Water Inputs in California Food Production, Water Education Foundation, Sacramen to, CA 1991.
1 Estimation of the Water Requirement for Beef Production in the United States, J.L. Beckett and
J.W. Olthen, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, November 1992

Water Fact

California relies on water from the Sierra Nevada snowpack , which melts to provide runoff to rivers and reservoirs. In normal years, melted snowpack typically supplies about 30 percent of the state’s water supply.

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