Red meat and water use

Current research shows that it takes 400 litres of water to produce 1kg of an animal’s liveweight, down 18% over the most recent five years and 73% lower than 1985.

This data came from the 2023 Life Cycle Analysis conducted by Integrity Ag (as commissioned by Meat & Livestock Australia, 2024 under project E.SUB.0010 – Trends Analysis of the Australian Beef Industry 2020) , showing a decrease of 18% in the five years to 2015. This is a calculation of the blue water footprint and includes cropping and pasture irrigation, livestock drinking water, and associated supply losses. This is a 73% decrease in consumption than in the five years to 1985.

They have been able to do this by applying a range of sustainable farming practices to conserve water. These include:

• Reducing irrigation for pasture production
• Capping free flowing artesian bores to reduce evaporative losses
• Genetic and breeding programs to increase growth rates.

Since 2017, the Australian Beef Sustainability Framework has tracked the industry’s water efficiency. You can read about the industry’s progress, performance and trends in their Annual update.

Eating meat has less impact on water scarcity than other foods

Red meat consumption contributed only 3.7% of the total dietary water-scarcity footprint (the potential impact associated with the quantity of water consumption).

The results suggest that eating fresh meat is less impactful to water scarcity than most other food groups, even cereals. In addition, water stress (when the demand for water exceeds the available amount) has decreased 61%, meaning red meat producers are continuing to adapt their practices in areas where water availability is limited.