How Water-thirsty Is The Food We Consume
Food production requires water, a lot of it! And this goes for any food item you can think of.
In fact, all food products have, what is called a ‘water footprint’, which is the equation that tells us how much water is needed for the production process until it reaches our plates.
Oftentimes people underestimate how important water is to food production, but when one starts to think about agricultural processes, packaging, shipping, all the way to cooking, the numbers add up quickly.
For example, according to research producing 1 kg of meat requires between 5,000 and 20,000 liters of water whereas to produce 1 kg of grains the water requirement is between 500 to 4,000 liters.
Not surprisingly, meat requires a lot more water than any other food group because we have to account for all the water animals need over their lifecycle, which includes the water to grow the food they eat, and this is how by cutting down on meat consumption we can automatically shrink our water footprint.
Learning that our food is a big contributor to climate change and that producing food requires so much water can be overwhelming.
However, solutions can be as simple as changing a few habits. For example, eating fewer animal proteins and trying to cook more at home because when we buy the ingredients ourselves, we tend to become more mindful about what we consume.
What’s more, with the growing number of plant-based food companies who are creating all kinds of plant-based “meats”, from fish to chicken to beef to pork, it is much less challenging now to switch our diet to something more plant-based, or simply, to adopt a less-meat heavy diet. Further, a growing number of research also shows that plant-based diets are healthier for our bodies.
Reference list:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/10/how-much-water-food-production-waste
As the first even hosted by Green Initiatives and Franke Home Solutions to officially kick off the ‘Food for Good’ event series, we aim to create an evening of delicious plant-based food with our community with some inspiring short talks on the food x water connection.
We will also share tips on how to create a healthier planet through our diet, and in the process also build healthier bodies.
Presentations will be in Chinese. However, everyone is welcome to join the event. Short talks will be followed by a discussion and audience Q&A session.
Event Itinerary
·18:30-19:15 Registrations / light F&B
·19:15-19:30 Event introduction by GI & Franke
·19:30-20:15 Speaker presentations + Q&A session with the audience (in Chinese)
·20:15-21:30 F&B service, drinks, networking. Tour of Franke Kitchen World and demo of live cooking
The ticket includes delicious plant-based food cooked on-site by our wonderful chefs; drinks will be available for purchase.
Early Brid Price ¥50 / Door Charge ¥70
Scan QR code to sign up
Date/ Location
Wednesday, 14th April, 2021 | 18:30-21:30
Franke Kitchen World
Room 115, 501 Jiujiang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
East Nanjing Road, Exit 4, Line 10
Coco Tse, VP of Strategy & Operations, HERO Protein
Coco Tse is the VP of Strategy & Operations at HERO Protein. As a passionate advocate of sustainability and vegan, Coco is committed to leveraging her experience in business strategy and transformation to bringing revolutionary changes to the food ecosystem with new plant-based proteins, enabling everyone to live a greener and healthier lifestyle easier than ever. Coco is an alumnus of the University of Hong Kong and King's College London and previously worked for BNP Paribas, Siemens and ANZ.
Lily Chen, Director, Lever China
Lily Chen is the Director of Lever China, an investment vehicle and consulting firm focusing on alternative protein space. She holds a certificate in plant-based nutrition from Cornell University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Hong Kong. She has been advocating a sustainable and plant-based lifestyle in various countries for many years. She is now dedicated to creating a sustainable and compassionate world through empowering entrepreneurs and unlocking innovation in the alternative protein sector.
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