March 22 is World Water Day

One must have thought how inconvenient to have temporary stoppage of water supplies? However, if you are old enough, you may still remember the days when people lined up on the streets to get water. I was told that this was what happened when I was born, and the entire family saved water so that I could take a bath daily.

Even though 70 percent of the Earth is covered by water, many parts of the world still can’t get clean water. In particular, China’s rapid economic development is polluting almost 60 percent of its rivers and ponds. Still remember the time when we discovered that our drinking water was polluted by its factories?

Since 1993 the United Nations has designated March 22 as World Water Day. This year’s campaign is ‘Water and Food Security’.

According to statistics, most of the water we drink are embedded in the food we eat - 1 kilo of beef for example consumes 15,000 liters of water while 1 kilo of wheat ’drinks up’ 1,500 liters. Industrial farming and meat production deplete our water resources, and these foods are also filled with toxic chemicals.

What can you do to reduce your water footprint?

·         eat more vegetables and fruits, and less meat;

·         buy from local farmers that use eco-friendly farming method;

·         consume less water-intensive products;

·         reduce the scandalous food wastage: 30% of the food produced worldwide is never eaten and the water used to produce it is definitively lost!