inCommunicado - eric eggertson

Every time someone brings up the argument for vegetarianism, my eyes sort of glaze over. It’s not that I disbelieve the world would be a better place if we ate more beans and less meat. I just start to go into shock at the thought of leaving meat behind.

Today I read an argument that your food choice make a big difference in the amount of water used. A pound of potatoes: 24 gallons. A pound of beef: 5,214 gallons. After all these years of having “environmental impact” and “environmental footprint” thrown at me, I see it in terms that make sense.

Water conservation has always meant to me fixing dripping taps, improving industrial production, and reducing lawn care in the suburbs…

I’ve known about the argument for eating beans and other things at the bottom of the food chain, but no one ever put it in context of water conservation for me before.

(No, that doesn’t mean you can take 20-minute showers guilt-free if you’re vegan.)

Finding more environmentally-friendly ways to raise cattle is a step in the right direction. I’d find it hard to give up beef altogether.

Now, on to milk. A dairy cow uses 115 litres of water a day? I’m not sure I can handle soy milk to go with my lentils. I’ll have to do more reading on this.

Baby steps, Eric. Baby steps…