When thinking of livestock, is water the first thing that pops into your head? I know for me it isn’t. I think of cows, chicken, and sheep providing milk, meat, and fleece to provide for a sustainable life. However, when it comes to livestock, the amount of water consumptions cows intake may be harming the environment more than we think. Now when looking at the water footprint when it comes to beef, producing a kilogram of beef uses around 15,415 liters around alone. When looking at the statistics, 92% of the world’s global footprint goes towards agriculture. Why does this matter you may ask? If agriculture uses about 70% of the world’s fresh water, which is 3 times as much as it was 50 years ago. This is not including the amount of water we use on the daily for other activities such as showering, washing clothes, and doing the dishes. With the life expectancy of a cow being used before slaughter, a cow would typically drink 24,000 liters of water within their life. When comparing these numbers its very hard to think of a solution for usage of less water. Another factor that harms water usage, is the way farmers fertilize their crops with pesticides, contaminating the ground water with nitrogen and phosphorus, that will eventually hurt plant and animal life within the sea.
When it comes to bottled water, students at Union College should definitely think about buying a reusable water bottle rather than buying bottled water at the bookstore everyday. I specifically think the carbon footprint is extremely high when thinking about FIJI water. The distance from Fiji to Schenectady New York is around 12,780 km, and yet it’s still a popular drink that many Union students continue to get. Reusable water bottles also typically hold more water, with an average of 32 oz to a plastic water bottles 16 oz, so not only are you helping the environment, but you’re saving money as well. This is very important since out of 50 billion plastic water bottles bought by Americans each year, only 23% are being recycled. I think Union is doing a good job in already placing many filters around campus to encourage the usage of reusable water bottles, but I feel that Union should definitely stop marketing Fiji water in particular even if it “supposedly” tastes better. If you haven’t already, this is your sign to buy a reusable water bottle! It will save your pockets (and the environment) in the long run.
resources:
https://case.edu/sustainability/news/making-switch-reusable-bottles
https://eu.boell.org/en/2021/09/07/water-thirsty-animals-thirsty-crops
