For some numbers:

One graph even has California’s animal feed water usage so large it actually goes off the chart at 15.2 million acre-feet of water (it is distorted to make it fit as it notes). For some comparison, the blue water usage of animal feed is larger than all of almonds water usage of ~2 million acre-feet of water

https://pacinst.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/ca_ftprint_full_report3.pdf#page=25

EDIT:

If the image isn’t loading for you, here’s a direct link: https://i.imgur.com/EjVps9Z.png

EDIT 2:

Also worth noting is that per liter, dairy milk requires 628.2 L of freshwater vs almond milk requiring 371.46 L of freshwater. And if you use something like oat milk instead that gets you to 48.24 L

https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impact-milks

  • query@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    2 years ago

    Animal feed is a huge category, vs. almonds. Almonds registering on that scale is what’s so shocking about it.

    Edit: Not that it isn’t wasteful, if you need extra feed besides grazing, you’re in trouble ecologically.