15.03.2021 08:17
Did you know that? Each of us uses more than 4000 liters of water a day!
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From Gina Gadis
Frankfurt am Main – Washing, rinsing, cooking – we use water every day. What many do not know, however, is that most of the water does not run through our taps, but is in our consumer goods. In this article you will find out how we manage to use more than 4000 liters (!) Of water every day.
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The virtual water consumption consists of green, blue and gray water. © aktiongrundwasserschutz.de
According to the Federal Statistical Office, there are currently whole flows in Germany per person per day 125 Liter through faucets, shower heads and toilets.
That is quite a lot – but only corresponds to the “visible” water. Then there is the “invisible”, so-called virtual water.
This is the water that is contained in our products or that is required for their production. Because of course you need water for the cultivation and extraction of raw materials, but also for further processing up to the final disposal.
These amounts of water are so immense that most of the water we use does not come from the tap, but from the shopping cart.
So shows the platform waterfootprint.orgthat for example one kilogram of potatoes worldwide requires an average of 287 liters, one kilogram of apples 822 liters and one kilogram of lettuce 237 liters of water.
These virtual amounts of water are made up of three components. The balance includes, on the one hand, rainwater (“green water”) and irrigation water (“blue water”) from flowing waters, lakes and groundwater, and on the other hand so-called “Grey water“.
This corresponds to the amount of water that has been so heavily polluted by fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals that it is unusable.
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Meat, coffee, and chocolate are great water-swallowers
The biggest water swallowers are animal products, cocoa and coffee. © Screenshot: Warenvergleich.de
Products such as bananas (940 liters / kilogram), wheat (1410 liters / kilogram), soybeans (2050 liters / kilogram) or rice (3470 liters / kilogram) are even thirstier.
Often exactly these come water-intensive products from countries like Spain, Morocco or Egypt, which already have little of the precious liquid at their disposal.
Added to this are the long transport routes and the deforestation of forests, as in Central and South America, in order to gain arable land, which further worsens the ecological balance of such products.
A lot of water is needed, especially for the production of animal products such as milk, eggs, cheese and meat. Actually, that’s quite logical, because the animals first need a lot of feed in order to obtain milk or eggs from them or to process them into meat.
The amount of water that is needed to grow the fodder such as grain, maize or soy is then included in the balance. In comparison, the amount of drinking water the animals can drink is marginal.
For animal products such as a packet of butter 1,388 liters or a kilogram of cheese 3,178 liters of water are required. But the production of meat in particular has an extremely high impact.
Believe it or not, more than 15,000 liters of water are required for one kilogram of beef! Thus, on average, 28 percent of total water consumption in Germany is caused by ours meat consumption.
To my great regret, the beloved coffee is also one of the very nasty water swallowers. If the beans are washed and not sun-dried, you need an average 21,000 liters of water for the production of one kilogram of coffee.
The whole thing is only surpassed by the well-loved chocolate, since cocoa cultivation is extremely water-intensive with 27.00 liters of water per kilogram.
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Everyone in Germany uses more than 4,000 liters of water per day
Overall, we come to an average water consumption of more than 4000 liters (visible + invisible water) per person and day in Germany (symbol image). © dpa / Jens Büttner
So it’s no wonder that loud landwirtschaft.de 70 percent of the world’s water abstraction can be traced back to agricultural production.
But a lot of this precious liquid is not only required for the production of food. Our other consumer goods also swallow a lot of water.
For the Production of a pair of jeans For example, a global average of 8,000 liters, i.e. around 53 bathtubs of water, is required. This is mainly due to the water-intensive conventional cultivation of cotton.
A sheet of paper contains ten liters of water, whereas recycled paper only contains 1.6 liters. Many raw materials that are used in technology and the like can also only be obtained with a great deal of water. A PC alone takes 20,000 liters of water.
According to the organization, there is an average of 400,000 liters of water in a car waterwise portrays.
Overall, we come to an average in Germany Water consumption of more than 4000 liters (visible + invisible water) per person and dayas the Federal Environment Agency writes.
Depending on consumer behavior, it can of course be more or less. To find out how much water your lifestyle demands, you can >> here calculate your personal footprint.
If you are just as shocked by the result as I am, you will find out next time how you can reduce your virtual water consumption.
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about the author
TAG24-Columnist Gina Gadis (25). © Gina Gadis
Gina Gadis (25) was born in Dresden and studied industrial engineering in Freiberg. Between her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she went traveling.
Gina traveled the world for almost two years, ten months of which she was in Asia.
This is where the initial spark came about. Because in many places in Asia people are no longer in control of the littering of their places.
Gina was already collecting rubbish on her trip, and she was getting more and more people in her home country enthusiastic about the topic.
When she came back to Germany (currently a master’s student in Darmstadt), she continued to pursue the waste issue. Among other things, she now writes this column for TAG24.
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Cover photo: Image montage: dpa / Jens Büttner, Gina Gadis
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