70 Percentage of global freshwater use that is devoted to irrigation. Industry soaks up 22 percent, and the remainder goes to households. About 20 percent of all cropland worldwide is irrigated; that land yields 40 percent of the world’s food supply.
528 Minimum amount of water, in gallons, required to produce a day’s worth of food for one person, according to United Nations estimates. One pound of rice takes about 240 gallons of water; 1,680 gallons go into creating one pound of grain-fed beef.
4.4 billion Amount of human waste, in pounds, entering global watercourses each day, according to the U.N.’s World Water Assessment Programme. In developing countries, 70 percent of industrial waste is dumped into the water supply with no treatment.
2 million Number of child deaths worldwide caused by diarrhea each year, as estimated by the World Health Organization. Of those deaths, 88 percent are due to lack ...
