Can We Have Our Meat and Eat It Too?

The Dot Earth Blog elaborates today on Elizabeth Rosenthal's article about the use of animal byproducts to fuel farms instead of fill the atmosphere with more harmful carbon dioxide. Today is the third and final day of the In Vitro Meat Consortium, a group of scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and government officials seeking ethical and environmentally conscious methods to supply the world’s growing population with the meat it craves. Whether we will reduce per capita meat consumption, expand efforts to reuse methane and solid waste from livestock, or mechanize cultured meat production is still up in the air.

Here at GSI, we spend a lot of time thinking about our water footprint. This concept was developed by Professor Arjen Y. Hoekstra to show volumes of water use and pollution from our daily activities. For example, the cup of coffee you had with breakfast took 140 liters of water to produce, and the hamburger for lunch will take 2,400 liters of water. This project and the above article are not calls to make us feel guilty about every bite, but to make us more conscious consumers in the grocery store.

To find out how much water you use each week, click here.