A 2016 study by water scientists published in the research journal Scientific Reports found that during the 20th century, 14% of the global population lived with insufficient water to provide for human needs. Today, water insufficiency has leapt to nearly 60% of the world’s people. With a tripling of world population in the last 80 years, the drain from current systems of large scale animal-based food production is unsustainable. The graphic below lends perspective. Changes in the foods we consume can be made voluntarily and pre-emptively or forced by drought. Individual inaction is a choice for the latter. See WSJ Lowville had lots of water then string cheese came to town:
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… a big reason water consumption is expanding around the world is food—primarily, meat and dairy products. As economies grow and wealth increases, more people are eating meat and cheese, which have far bigger water footprints than fruit and vegetables.”
