Key figure of the week: the water footprint of meat production

Sources : Figure 1 / Figure 2 / Figure 3 / Figure 4 / Figure 5

Go to our french website "Key figures"

The water footprint associated with meat production

(in 2023, on average, worldwide)

Discover our key figures:

15 415 L

of water

for 1kg of beef

4 325 L

of water

for 1kg of chicken

5 988 L

of water

for 1kg of pork

10 412 L

of water

for 1kg of sheep

5 521 L

of water

for 1kg of goat

Meat production is often singled out for its impact on the environment, particularly in terms of its water footprint, i.e. the quantity of water required throughout the production process. This is a major challenge in the quest for food and environmental sustainability.

However, in the context of meat production, the water footprint is mainly green, meaning that the water consumed in meat production comes mainly from rainfall, which is stored by plants.

In addition, sustainable farming practices, technical innovations and changes in consumption habits should be explored to reduce the environmental impact of meat production.

A few examples of projects

Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) Water usage and resources for Agricutlure

WAT4CAM - Capacity building, support to the implementation of an Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) process and support to IWRM governance scheme -Component 3.2