5 Ways to Put Food on a Water Diet

This briefing by the World Resources Institute outlines five strategies to reduce the food system's impact on freshwater resources, highlighting the disparity between the water people drink and the water required to produce their food.

• Agriculture is a primary driver of freshwater use, accounting for 70 percent of annual global freshwater withdrawals. There is a significant gap between direct water consumption and the water required for food production: while an average person drinks 2 to 4 liters daily, producing their daily food requires between 2,000 and 5,000 liters.
• Food loss and waste significantly impact water resources, with one billion tons of food wasted annually. This inefficiency means over 17 percent of total water withdrawals—and a quarter of all agricultural water—is spent on food that is never consumed.
• Dietary shifts toward plant-based foods can drastically reduce water footprints. Beef is particularly water-intensive, requiring 7,007 liters per pound, which is more than 50 times the 130 liters per pound required for potatoes.
• Nature-based solutions and improved field technologies can increase productivity while saving water. Agroforestry in Malawi increased maize yields by 50 percent. Additionally, drip irrigation can reduce water use by 60 percent compared to flood irrigation and increase crop productivity by 50 percent.
• Strategic crop management is essential, particularly for rice, which consumes 40 percent of global irrigation water. In China and Japan, farmers have increased yields and saved water by draining rice paddies to just above the roots once per growing season.

APA

World Resources Institute (2019). 5 Ways to Put Food on a Water Diet. https://www.wri.org/insights/5-ways-put-food-water-diet

Chicago

World Resources Institute. 5 Ways to Put Food on a Water Diet. 2019. https://www.wri.org/insights/5-ways-put-food-water-diet.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=5 Ways to Put Food on a Water Diet |date=4 June 2019 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/5-ways-put-food-water-diet |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2019ways, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{5 Ways to Put Food on a Water Diet}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2019}, month = jun, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/5-ways-put-food-water-diet}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }