Macadamia nuts, hazelnuts and brazil nuts are great examples of sustainable food production because they require little water and minimal upkeep. Brazil nuts also support the rainforest and reduce deforestation.
Sugarcane is one of the most water-intensive crops. It takes an average of 210 liters of water to produce one kg of sugarcane.
Beef, sheep and pork meat all require high volumes of water for production. Beef requires the most water, at 1,847 gal./lb., followed by sheep at 1,248 gal./lb. and pork at 718 gal./lb. If you’re going to eat meat, go with chicken. Better yet try eggs, which take 395 gal./lb.
For dairy products, cheese and butter take more than milk at 381 gal./lb. and 665 gal./lb. respectively.
Winner: Tofu at 302 gal./lb. It takes 704 gallons of water to produce one pound of lentils. Chickpeas require less than lentils at 501 gal./lb., and soybeans require less than the more processed tofu, at 257 gal./lb. All of these options are better than eating beef, sheep or pork.
Some will argue that the measurement of gallons per pound isn’t fair — we should consider gallons of water per gram of protein. In this case, pulses (including beans, lentils, peas, etc.) win out at 5 gallons per gram of protein, followed by eggs at 7.7 gal./gram, milk at 8.2 gal./gram, and chicken at 9 gal./gram. The numbers only go up from there, with beef topping the scale, requiring 29.6 gallons of water per gram of protein.
What crop needs the least amount of water?
These include cool-season legumes such as peas, lentils and fava beans, and the crucifer crops: Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, broccoli, turnips and watercress.
Sweet corn and lettuce are shallow- rooted and don’t do well without a lot of water. But, there really are few losers when it comes to veggies. In general, they consume far less water than animal products, nuts and grains.