The UN forecasts that by 2050 feeding the world will require a 20% expansion in agriculture’s global water use.
The UN forecasts that by 2050 feeding the world will require a 20% expansion in agriculture’s global water use. But water use is already maxed out in many places, aquifers are vanishing, 25% rivers are failing to reach the sea because we are using so much of it.
10% of all global freshwater is used for animal agriculture. But some estimates are much larger. Globally, agriculture accounts for 92% of the global freshwater footprint; 29% of the water in agriculture is directly or indirectly used for animal production.
Water shortage and droughts more common in India, home to 17% of the world’s population. Water in the Upper Ganges aquifer in India is being withdrawn at 50 times its recharge rate. But, to keep pace with food demand, farmers in South Asia expect to use between 80% and 200% more water by 2050. Where will it come from? [George Monbiot]
