The role of sustainable diets for water security in India
Human food consumption is the main driver of global freshwater use. The water used in the production of diets can range from around 2000 to 4000 litre per person per day, depending on the diet pattern and where the crops are grown (Harris et al., 2019). Asian diets are the most dependant on irrigation from ground and surface water reserves.
In India, agriculture accounts for 90% of India’s freshwater use. However, groundwater depletion is already a concern in some areas, and climate change may affect water availability and distribution. A growing population and the nutrition transition in India is increasing the water requirements in agriculture, while unhealthy diets are quickly becoming one of the leading causes of death.
Sustainable diets are those that consider human health and the environment while respecting social and economic conditions. In the case of India, sustainable dietary changes provide a significant opportunity to reduce water use and improve diet related health, however it’s not clear what the changes would be or how they would be achieved. The aim of this PhD project is to quantify the impact of current diets on water use in India, and through an understanding of how food is produced, traded and consumed in India, explore what changes to food consumption could improve water sustainability.
Reference
Francesca Harris, Cami Moss, Edward J M Joy, Ruth Quinn, Pauline F D Scheelbeek, Alan D Dangour, Rosemary Green, The Water Footprint of Diets: A Global Systematic Review and Meta-analysis, Advances in Nutrition, https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmz091
