Every Drop You Save, The Planet You Pave: Researchers in China Working To Optimize Food Production To Improve Water Sustainability

By Joel Martinez

Image of the food product optimization model that was provided by the researchers to help with the problem of water scarcity.

Figure taken from Miaoye Et al. 2024

       Food production is extremely important in the development of the economy, social stability, and for human surivival. With food production, however, comes the use of large quantities of water to help in this process. Climate change has created an global problem in the uneven distribution of water resources, and many countries that are powerhouse food producers are experiencing water stress. 

    Researchers in China worked together to construct a framework for a water footprint life-cycle assessment on the basis of the production of grain crops and animal products specifically during production, consumption, and transportation, as well as to propose a model that aims to optimize food production while maintaining food security and reducing the use of water in this process. The optimal model shows that the food sources of focus are grain crops and animal products, as China is responsible for about 25% of grain production globally. Grain crops and animal products do have a relationship, as animals consume grains in their feeding stages. In the water footprint, a blue water footprint represented the water used in irrigation, while the green water footprint represented the precipitation in crop growth.

    Results of this study showed that China's blue water footprint was largely responsible for the total footprint value of 820.8 billion m3, as well as North China's footprint being larger than the south. The optimization model discussed by the researchers shows that optimization can be reach by decreasing the total water footprint of China and stabilizing the difference between the footprint of the two regions of the country to ensure that water stress is limited and that this resource is able to be sustained for much longer.

Original Article: 

Miaoye K, Yicheng W, Yognan Z, Fan H, Shan J, Mingming Y. 2024. Optimizing the structure of food production in China to improve sustainability of water resources. Science of The Total Environment 900: 165750 - 165761. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165750