Canada is the third largest virtual water exporter in the world.
While part of the economy favours high volumes of agricultural exports, tremendous amounts of water embedded in food are shipped out of the country at the same time, said Hans Schrierer of the University of British Columbia’s faculty of land and food systems. His research focuses on watershed management, land-water interactions, soil and water.
He said Canada has increased its virtual water exports from 54 billion cubic metres in 2000 to 61 billion cubic metres in 2008 by growing and exporting commodities that require considerable water to produce. Domestic requirements are nine billion cubic metres.
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“We should focus on growing water efficient crops with high value and low environmental impact,” he told the Water in a World of Seven Billion conference in Calgary May 8-10.
“We are the third largest water exporter and the fifth largest water footprint in the world.”
Schrierer said the livestock industry is a big water guzzler.
“Beef production is the most water intensive way of producing food.”
He estimates 5,000 litres of water are needed to maintain the average North American diet on a daily basis.
Most staple crops require 1,000 litres of water per kilogram produced, but meat production requires twice to seven times more, he said.
About 16,000 litres of water are required to produce one kilogram of beef, while 5,000 litres produce one kg of pork and chicken needs 3,500 litres per kg of meat.
“The best strategy is to reduce beef production for both domestic and export consumption because it will save us a huge amount of water, which we can use for something else,” he said.
“It will reduce eutrophication. It will produce less greenhouse gas and it will improve your health.”
Producers should consider growing water efficient crops best suited to the local environment, he said.
For example, British Columbia’s Okanagan basin is the driest watershed in Canada. Schrierer was part of a UBC study that showed forage was the largest crop grown in the region. It takes a lot of water but has low value.
“Grapes are probably the best and most water efficient crop to grow,” he said. “If you look at the value of the water, grapes are probably the best thing to do in this part of the world.”
As well, he said, because Alberta has seen its beef industry move heavily to large operations and feedlots during the last 30 years, excess manure and large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous are overloading soils and running into water supplies.
Manitoba’s pork industry has been going through similar changes. As a result, greenhouse gases are released from manure and when animals pass gas.
“The argument I am trying to make is the price of exported meat does not account for the environmental degradation,” he said.
