Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 9.6
Virtual water in animal products produced in selected countries (L/kg).
Beef
Pork Goat meat Sheep meat Chicken meat
Eggs
Milk
United States
13,193
3,946
3,082
5,977
2,389
1,510
695
China
12,560
2,211
3,994
5,202
3,652
3,550
1.000
India
16,482
4,397
5,187
6,692
7,736
7,531
1.369
Russia
21,028
6,947
5,290
7,621
5,763
4,919
1.345
Indonesia
14,818
3,938
4,543
5,956
5,549
5,400
1.143
Australia
17,112
5,909
3,839
6,947
2,914
1,844
915
Brazil
16,961
4,818
4,175
6,267
3,913
3,337
1.001
Japan
11,019
4,962
2,560
3,571
2,977
1,884
812
Mexico
37,762
6,559
10,252
16,878
5,013
4,277
2.382
Italy
21,167
6,377
4,180
7,572
2,198
1,389
861
Netherlands
11,681
3,790
2,791
5,298
2,222
1404
641
World average
15,497
4,856
4,043
6,143
3,918
3,340
990
Reproduced from Hoekstra and Chapagain, 2007, with permission of Springer.
watersheds or supporting communities with no access to clean water. Other ways of working
toward water neutrality are reducing water extraction from aquifers and surface water by har-
vesting rainwater or by treating and reusing grey water.
The concept of water neutrality can be a good initiative as far as it is not misrepresented as
being the equivalent to “zero net use,” which would be an oxymoron in the food industry,
especially in the beverages sector where water is the main ingredient. Caution should be exer-
cised either when making claims or responding to claims about water neutrality because it is
a concept that, if taken out context, can easily be cited as “greenwash.”
EFFICIENCY OF WATER USE IN FOOD PROCESSING
Water used in processing plants produce impacts at local, regional, and global levels due
to its uptake from local resources (e.g., aquifers), the potabilization process, which
requires energy and chemicals, and the generation of effluents. In most cases, effluents
coming out of processing plants has high solid contents and needs treatment before it is
returned to water bodies. Wastewater treatment uses energy and chemicals and cause a
direct impact by the direct release of GHGs, such as carbon dioxide and methane. So,
improving the efficiency of water consumption not only contributes to the preservation of
this valuable resource but also saves money and reduces direct and indirect carbon
emissions.
Water consumption in processed foods, such as canned products, is high, especially in
the fruits and vegetables industry. The fruit canning industry in the United States produces an
average volume of wastewater of 13,425 gallons/ton for pineapples, 31,875 gallons/ton for
cherries, 16,145 gallons/ton for peaches, and 27,685 gallons/ton for apples (North Carolina
Department of Environment and Natural Resources [NCDENR], 2009). In addition, the use of
water in the food industry is far from optimized, and there is a broad variability in water use
by industries that process the same product. Figure 9.6 shows the raw wastewater volume
(which is directly correlated with the water used) produced by plants that process fruits and
vegetables in the United States.
