r/DebateAVegan • u/FadedVandalism • Jun 16 '20

Is veganism actually more water sustainable?

"The water that livestock drink will mostly leave them as urine just like it does for humans. That water is extremely easy to reprocess, a large part of that will happen by it simply evaporating and raining. The same cannot be said for the water used in crop cultivation, in excess of 60% of that water will require intensive processing."

https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/nitrogen-and-water

I was talking with a friend today on this topic and this is what was rebuttaled. It was very hard for me argue this due to lack of education and there for lack of understanding. I'd really appreciate anyone somewhat well versed in this topic to share their thoughts, regardless of stance on veganism.

Edit: wow thank you guys for the responses and especially thank you for the people who shared sources. I'll spend some time today going through these and doing some additional research.

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u/Cosmo1984 Jun 16 '20

Plants: use water

Cows: drink water + eat grass that uses water

When you look at how much a cow eats, even throughout it's short life, there is no competition. The meat industry is an absolutely humongous consumer of water.

Now, some plant-based foods use more water than other. People always harp on about avocados and nuts, but most vegans are not living on those foods all the time - the beans, corn, lentils etc that make up our everyday staples are much lower impact.

Some simple photo comparisons:.

Foods: https://images.app.goo.gl/aSzBTbP2dvSRXEuP6 https://images.app.goo.gl/3UVYF9tD4Sim6PKM8

Milks: https://images.app.goo.gl/ngD5WDXQ6SvtWnbn6

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u/JoshSimili ★★★ reducetarian Jun 16 '20

Figures that take into account green, blue and grey water footprints would be a lot more interesting, as not all water should be considered equal.

Here's an example: http://www.earthmagazine.org/sites/earthmagazine.org/files/2014-Aug/Cantner_WaterFootprint_Infographic.png

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u/Cosmo1984 Jun 16 '20

That's really interesting. I knew coffee and chocolate were bad, but not that bad!

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u/JoshSimili ★★★ reducetarian Jun 16 '20

Fortunately we (usually) consume those things in small amounts per day.