Fact or Fiction?
410 Billion Gallons of water are used in the USA per day.
It is
Fact. Nearly half of those billions of gallons are used for production of electrical power.(Ref. #
1) Humans (Yes, that is us.) we use 80-100 gallons of water a day. (Ref. #
2)
Fact or Fiction?
Processing Beef is taking all of our water supply.
It is Fiction.
It takes about 441 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of boneless beef. This number is the total of what the animal drinks, the irrigated pasture that the animals may graze, the crops that they animals may consume and the processing of the animal.
According to a study published in 2011 in the Journal of Animal Science, the amount of water used to raise beef today compared to 30 years ago has been reduced by 12 percent.
According to previous research, it takes 226 more days for grass-finished cattle to reach market
weight than grain-finished cattle. More days on grass may mean greater environmental impact. For example, compared to grass-fed beef, grain-fed beef uses 76 percent less water.(Ref. #
1)
In my opinion, we the people seem to be using a lot of water. For instance, a 5 minute shower uses 10-25 gallons of water. And it takes 39,090 gallons of water to manufacture a new car. (
Ref.#3)
Raising beef requires the use of our natural resources that God has given us like land, water and energy. Thank you to all the farmers and ranchers who raise beef with fewer natural resources, including water, than we have ever before.
One thing we do on the Circle L Ranch is that we work with our soil and water conservation district to manage our soils and water. We also use windmills and other natural water sources to water our Circle L cattle and all of the wildlife that roams our ranch.
Happy Friday, Friends! I am headed to the Rapid City Stock Show to attend a feed meeting. What will you be doing this weekend? Watching the Super Bowl?
