White Paper: Virtual Water

The world's water supply is finite, while its population is ever-growing. Finding better ways to protect and manage this limited resource is a constant challenge. On the consumer level, there has been an increased awareness of ways to reduce water use at home — turning off the faucet while brushing teeth, installing water-saving fixtures and watering the lawn less often, for instance. But direct water use accounts for only a small part of the water consumed. A far greater amount is consumed in the production of food and other products. Agriculture, in fact, accounts for as much as 85 percent of worldwide water use. To create sustainable solutions to the growing global scarcity of freshwater, the bigger picture must be considered: indirect water use, also known as "virtual water."