It takes lots of water to produce food for a family In fact, it takes 100 gallons of water to produce just one watermelon.
Here’s a sample of how much water an average person might “eat” in a day. (Courtesy of the California Farm Water Coalition):
Americans consume about 8 times more water in the food we eat than we do for standard household uses, such as brushing our teeth, washing our dishes and clothes, and showering. On average, it takes more than 800 gallons of water to grow the food you consume in ONE DAY. Below is a sample daily menu with the estimated quantity of water required to grow the ingredients in each meal.
Gallons of water required for food production
| Breakfast |
Gallons |
| Orange juice (8 fl. oz.) | 49.1 |
| One egg | 62.7 |
| One toast and butter | 56.3 |
| 1/4 cantaloupe | 40.0 |
| Breakfast Total | 208.1 gallons |
| Lunch: BBQ chicken sandwich | Gallons |
| Chicken (4 oz.) | 115.0 |
| Wheat bread (2 slices) | 21.2 |
| Cheese (1 slice) | 56.0 |
| Toma to (1 oz.) | 1.9 |
| Lettuce (1/4 cup) | 0.7 |
| BBQ sauce(1/2 oz.) | 1.6 |
| Catsup (1/2 oz.) | 1.6 |
| White sugar (2 tsp.) | 4.7 |
| Vinegar and spices | Water use unknown |
| Orange (4.6 oz.) | 13.8 |
| Water (12 fl. oz.) | 0.2 |
| Lunch Total | 215.1 gallons |
| Dinner: Lasagna | Gallons |
| Pasta (4 oz.) | 71.8 |
| Toma to sauce (6 oz.) | 38.7 |
| Cheese (3 oz.) | 168.0 |
| Ground beef (3 oz.) | 82.51 |
| Spices | Water use unknown |
| Garlic Bread/Bread (1 slice) | 10.6 |
| Butter, 1 pat (.36 oz.) | 45.7 |
| Garlic | Water use unknown |
| Salad | |
| Lettuce (1/2 cup) | 1.5 |
| Toma to (2 oz.) | 3.8 |
| Other vegetables/spices | Water use unknown |
| Milk (8 fl. oz.) | 48.3 |
| Dinner Total | 470.9 gallons |
| One Day’s Total: | 894.1 gallons |
Courtesy of the California Farm Water Coalition (www.cfwc.com).
Derived from Water Inputs in California Food Production, Water Education Foundation, Sacramen to, CA 1991.
1 Estimation of the Water Requirement for Beef Production in the United States, J.L. Beckett and
J.W. Olthen, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, November 1992
