Chocolate tops the list with 17,196 litres of water need to produce 1kg of the product. Beef, sheep and pork meat all require high volumes of water for production also. Tea, beer and wine use the least according to the list.
Meat products, especially beef, are some of the most water-intensive foods because livestock consume a lot of food. A typical cow can eat thousands of pounds of food during its lifetime so beef requires an estimated 1,875 gallons of water per pound.
The three major irrigated broadacre crops grown in Australia are cotton, sugarcane and rice. Cotton is the largest of these crops grown under irrigation; both cotton and sugarcane are also grown under rainfed production (Table 1).
Dairy, and especially meat, tend to have some of the biggest water footprints of any food because of the feed an animal eats. Whether chickens, hogs or beef cattle, they all eat large quantities of food.
For example, vegetables such as celery, cucumber, iceberg lettuce, tomato and zucchini contain over ninety percent water. Other nutrient-rich vegetables with high water content include broccoli, green cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant and spinach.
Rice acts as one of the most important staple food in the world and India is one of its largest producers. However, its production requires a great quantity of water. The rise in population has led to an increase in the demand for food crops; in turn escalating the amount of water required for irrigating them.
Water usage in Australia
Crops including cereals, cotton, and sugar cane all require large volumes of water for irrigation. The Murray-Darling Basin, one of the largest and most significant agricultural areas in Australia, depends on access to millions of liters of water each year for agricultural purposes.
Farming fruits and vegetables requires the most amount of water to keep plants hydrated to produce enough food to feed the country.
Because the top few inches of soil dried out quickly, shallow-rooted vegetables such as cucumbers, spinach, cabbage, celery, corn, onions, leeks, carrots, broccoli, radishes, and Brussels sprouts will need frequent watering in hot weather or soils that are light on humus or compost.
Carrots, beetroot, parsnips and other root crops are relatively drought tolerant. Salads and other leafy vegetables are particularly vulnerable. Plants that set fruit or pods are most vulnerable at flowering time. Examples include peas, runner beans and sweetcorn.
Do you know what food has the largest global water footprint? Beef. It takes approximately 1,847 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef — that's enough water to fill 39 bathtubs all the way to the top.
1. Almonds. To produce 1 pound of almonds, 7302 litres of water is used, making them the nut with the biggest water footprint. It actually takes 5 litres of water to produce just 1 almond!
Beef requires the largest amount of water because the bigger the animal, the more resources required such as more drinking water and water to clean etc.
On land, soybeans can produce 6.3 million calories per acre. Wheat can produce 6.4 million in good soil. Corn can produce 12.3 million (which is why it's so popular to grow) and potatoes tip the scales while producing 18 million calories per acre.
In terms of rainfall, Australia is the driest inhabited continent, and the amount of rainwater that enters rivers is also very low. On average, only 12% of rainfall flows into rivers in Australia, compared to 39% for Europe and 52% for North America.
The toilet
A single flush cistern uses 9 to 11 litres per flush.
If a standard showerhead is fitted, it will use around an extra half a gallon each minute, accounting for a 25-gallon emittance every 10 minutes, or 50 gallons throughout a 20-minute shower. *1 gallon = 4.54 litres.
Incidentally, two major water-guzzling crops - rice and sugarcane - reported record output while less water consuming coarse cereals (jowar, bajra, ragi, small millets and maize) witnessed a dip despite substantial increase in their minimum support prices (MSPs) last year.
Sugarcane is the least water efficient crop.
This is the activity that uses the most water worldwide
Perhaps unsurprisingly, agriculture places a larger strain on the world's limited water resources than any other human activity. By some estimates, a whopping 70 percent of all freshwater globally is used for agriculture.
Cucumber, 96% water
They're also low in calories, and a source of vitamins and fibre. Tip: Add cucumber to your salads, snack on cucumber vegetable sticks with hummus or blend cucumber with mint and lime to make a refreshing drink.
Watermelon. If the name—and telltale juiciness—of this fruit gives it away. Beyond being loaded with immune-boosting vitamin C and plant compounds, refreshing pink watermelon is often considered to be one of the most hydrating fruits, containing up to 91 percent water.
Cucumber. Not surprisingly, the cucumber is in the top 3 of the most water-rich foods. It has a water content of 97%. With only 12 calories per 100 grams, it is also very low in calories.