The $6 trillion global agri-food industry is one of the most exposed to water-related risks, and water stress affects many of the world’s largest food-exporting countries. Paradoxically, despite increasing risks to food and water security due to water depletion, pollutants and climate-induced droughts, the food and agri-food sector is one of the main participants in the problem, accounting for 70% of all freshwater withdrawals. As environmental awareness continues to shape customer decisions, it’s no surprise that sustainable water management is poised to become one of the most sensible food trends by 2024, according to the findings of the Whole Foods Trends Council.
On the theme “Water is life, water is food”. Leaving No One Behind,” the United Nations World Food Day 2023 highlighted the critical role of water in sustaining life and its interdependent relationship with food. In a video message released on Oct. 16, U. N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “sustainable water control for agriculture and food production aims to eliminate hunger, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and preserve water for generations in the long term. “
Now more than ever, there is an urgent need for conscious and sustainable control of water resources, focused on the equitable, environmentally sound and effective use of this important resource. Here are some tactics food corporations will use to engage with sustainable water management over the next year.
Several brands of water draw water from select sources, such as air and fruit byproducts.
Extracting water from plant by-products not only reduces water intake but also helps reduce food waste. Aqua Botanical, an Australian logo, claims that it is capable of extracting six hundred litres of water from a tonne of carrots that would otherwise have gone to waste. Using proprietary water generation to collect the aqueous liquid discovered at the culmination and vegetables, Aqua Botanical creates clean, filtered water containing 74 plant minerals.
Water vapor in the environment is a valuable source of new water. In the United Arab Emirates, Hawa water is filtered and mineralized water derived from moisture in the air. In Brazil, Amazon Air Water is collected from water produced through trees in the Amazon. Rainforest. With a typical bottle retailing at $83, proceeds from the Amazon Air Water sale are used for sustainability projects.
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Regenerative agriculture plays a critical role in soil health, facilitating nutrient retention, increasing the resilience of grasses to environmental challenges, and mitigating erosion. This contributes to the conservation of water resources and the improvement of water quality in ecosystems, by reducing the volume of water needed for agricultural activities and reducing the destructive runoff of water and nutrients from agricultural land.
In September 2023, the SAI Platform, a network of 170 leading food corporations committed to sustainability, unveiled a framework outlining the transition to regenerative agriculture for food corporations.
In regenerative agriculture, instead of pesticides, irrigation systems, and heavy tillage machinery, canopy crops are used to conserve soil moisture and nutrients. Rotating crops and livestock from season to season allows the worms to make the paintings that machines make elsewhere. (Photo via Phill Magakoe/AFP)
Many primary food brands such as Unilever, Nestlé, McDonald’s, Danone, and General Mills have already committed to regenerative agriculture.
Globally, many farm-to-table restaurants are turning to sustainable, pesticide-free, closed-loop urban farms. Nutrients are obtained through fish waste, while aeroponics provides nutrients to plant roots in the form of a fine mist, minimizing water consumption.
In the U. S. , Gather in Omaha restaurant’s urban aeroponic vertical farm produces 3,600 pounds of sustainably grown, pesticide-free leafy vegetables and herbs annually, requiring 95 percent less water than traditional farming, while Ohio-based Asian fusion chain Balance Grille He owns an 8,600-square-foot vertical aquaponics farm.
In Haoma, Thailand’s first zero-waste urban farm and restaurant, herbs, plants, and fruit vegetables are grown on an aquaponics farm. Haoma says it helps conserve more than 150,000 liters of rainwater a year that he uses for his aquaponics. farm and recycle. Nordaq water filtration systems for your consumers to consume as still and sparkling water.
Stick with Root Salad at Haoma: Thailand’s First Urban Farm and Zero-Waste Restaurant
Oysters, clams, and mussels (also known as bivalves) are desktop “filter feeders” that don’t rely on external feeding, but do feed on plankton and other small organisms found naturally in the water. These shellfish use virtually no land or new soil. They play a very important role in improving water quality by filtering out excess nutrients, and have the ability to sequester carbon in their shells, making them a potentially valuable tool in the fight against climate change. According to a recent study funded by Sea Grant, if Americans replaced just 10 percent of their meat consumption with oysters, greenhouse fuel savings equivalent to the environmental impact of taking approximately 11 million cars off the road would be achieved.
Food selection has a significant effect on the water footprint, as livestock farming has a particularly higher water footprint than vegetables, cereals or legumes, pound for pound. Food brands are reducing their water footprint by taking a “plant-centric” approach. , focusing on plant-based and plant-rich offerings.
The Hope and Sesame food logo is notable for making milk from sesame seeds, which has a significantly smaller water footprint than many other plant-based milk logos. This merit comes from the fact that sesame cultivation requires much less water than other crops used in select milk production. Many classic logos, such as Yoplait, are also expanding their product lines to include more plant-based options, such as the Yoplait Yes product line made with coconut cream.
In recent years, the power of water use in operations has been at the heart of food brands’ sustainability strategies. At Fairmont Marina Bay in Singapore, food service institutions are specialty dishwashers in high-demand areas, helping them hold a staggering 1. 7 million liters of water. In a similar vein, Starbucks embarked on its own water conservation adventure in January 2020, committing to fill or safeguard a very extensive component of the water used in green coffee production, a very important facet of its long-term water strategy. strategy.
According to a study published in the journal Environmental Science and Pollution Research, developing consumer awareness and commitment to environmentally friendly practices is making water sustainability a compelling selling point for businesses. And several food companies have already had to join this trend.
In collaboration with the Swiss Institute of Eternity, the German food logo Veganz has started displaying its own eco-balance claims on its product packaging, while the Quorn meat substitute logo markets its low water footprint on its online page and through an online page. of advertising platforms. One of Quorn’s social media posts reads, “Did you know that the water footprint of Quorn’s microprotein production is 30 times smaller than that of beef production?Tasty AND smart for the planet. Quorn Net Positive Report (2022) reports that Quorn has reduced its water consumption per ton of product increased by 36%.
According to Save the Water (2019), around 25,000 liters of water are needed to grow and produce the daily food for a family of four, contributing to the immediate depletion of limited water resources.
Increasing water scarcity poses a significant risk to global food and beverage production, and as a result, food and beverage brands will continue to face great pressure to adopt water control and contribute to more sustainable and culprit food production practices in the months and years to come. . Come.