Vegetarianism as a Solution to the Water Crisis

One of the key problems facing humanity in the coming decades is the shrinking availability of clean drinking water. As populations rise and climate change becomes more of an issue, water experts are increasingly calling for radical change to protect existing supplies and prevent desperate shortages.

One of the options suggested is to encourage people to adopt a vegetarian diet.

Currently humans gain around 20 percent of their protein requirements from meat which uses five to ten times more water than plant-based food, according to a recent study by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI). The study says if this can be reduced by increasing the intake of vegetables over meat, chances are the water crisis will be averted.

"There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in Western nations," the SIWI report said.

Devastating news indeed however the report says that a switch to a more vegetable-based diet would resolve the issue.

"There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5 per cent of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade."

Syndian Natural Food Products has always produced vegetarian and vegan products for its customers. Our commitment is to bring natural foods which have the minimum of processing to Australian plates. Water experts’ calls for the world to switch to a more vegetarian diet over the next 40 years to avoid catastrophe resonate with our own aims to encourage a switch to a more vegetarian diet.

Do you have an opinion about vegetarianism and the upcoming water crisis? Please don’t hesitate to put your comment below or over at our Facebook Page.