Tag: diet

World Water Day 2012: Water and Food Security

Today is World Water Day and the United Nations is urging you to get educated and to motivate others to conserve and respect this delicate and limited natural resource. This annual event, organized through the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, works to promote ideas that will hopefully decrease water waste and increase more productive methods for using our valuable water supply.

To celebrate World Water Day this year, here are some simple ways to embrace water conservation at home. You can also download more detailed information about world’s water supply and the effect water has on earth’s population here.

Save water, every drop counts.

Make Simple Changes to Your Diet

We’ve discussed water consumption at Green Living Ideas before and when you think of water usage your first thoughts might drift to fruits and vegetables. However, more water is used in raising livestock than many know. If you grow your own food than you are better able  track  the amount of water used in watering and washing produce. If you’re not a vegetarian and meat makes up a portion of your diet than it can become difficult to track the water necessary for cattle, poultry and other meats. How much is used to feed and clean the animals? How much has gone into the feed considering most livestock are now fed a diet of corn and other grains rather than grass-feeding and free-ranging. Decreasing your meat consumption and eating more locally grown fruits and veggies is one of the easiest ways to make an impact on world water use and helps make positive impacts on your health.

{cc photo courtesy of Diganta Talukdar on Flickr}

Beef for sale

Investigate the Water Needed to Produce Products

This is an eye-opener. While learning about the water needed to sustain your meat before it heads to slaughter and market, you’re sure to become inquisitive regarding the other objects on which you rely. From electronics to storage items in the kitchen, almost everything requires water for production. Disposable items force  water usage over and over again making them one item you might want to work to avoid purchasing. Choosing glass containers for food storage make more sense especially when they’re picked up at a thrift store. Reusing and re-purposing items is a great way to lower water consumption since you’re decreasing the need for new item production. Water is even required for recycling, so keeping items out of the recycle bin is quite helpful. Remember, egg cartons make great drawer organizers.

{cc photo courtesy of comprock on Flickr}

Lawn sprinklers tend to waste water

Decrease Water Waste

Following your water use is easily done with a journal and your water bill. Track water use for a month making noting when  and where there is waste. Examples could include water spillage on to the sidewalk during lawn watering or leaving the faucet on during teeth brushing. Evaluate your observations and come up with at least five solutions for wasting less water and try them out the following month. You’ll be able to see if change is evident during the next billing cycle. For families, this becomes a fun game, especially for children, of finding ways to save water.

{cc photo courtesy of Jellaluna on Flickr}

Hydroponic garden

Produce More Food with Less Water

People growing their own vegetables are able to track the water used in raising their crops. If your brown thumb keeps you from gardening than try to purchase your goods from local farms. At the farmer’s market talk to growers about how much water they use and what they do to try a conserve water. Many farmers are frugal-minded individuals with much insight into ways to save various forms of energy  including water. If you do garden, one popular solution is a method that might seem to fall outside the realm of water conservation, hydroponic gardening. However, this method relies so heavily on water that it shuns waste by utilizing almost every last drop. It’s becoming quite popular especially in small homes and even apartments.

{cc photo courtesy of  J Wynia on Flickr}

How have you curbed your water usage? Is this something that concerns you and your family?

You can follow World Water Day on Facebook and on Twitter for the events around the world today.

World Water Day at Important Media

{Source: World Water Day}

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World Water Day 2012: Water and Food Security