title: Alleviating Pressure on Water Resources: A new approach could be attempted.
abstract: Water and food safety are two major challenges which the world faces today. Traditional water management focuses on the reduction of water use through improvements in water saving technologies. However, quantitative research is needed to evaluate the effects of changing food consumption patterns on water resources. Here we report the water saving effects of changing diet pattern of the major crops and animal products in mainland China. By using the concepts of water footprint (WF) per weight unit and per calorie unit, provided by 13 primary crop and animal products, the WFs of the 13 agricultural products in each province are compared, and their water/energy conversion efficiencies are analyzed. Then, impacts of different scenarios of changing diet pattern on water consumption were explored. Results show that there are obvious differences between the WF per weight and calorie unit provided by crop and animal products due to the nutritional properties of the agricultural products. Promoting water savings from the food consumption side could give a positive feedback on water consumption. Scenario analysis of adjustments to the diet pattern proves that it is potentially feasible to reach the objective of alleviating stress on water resources while guaranteeing nutritional value of the residents.
authors.affiliation: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.|Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid regions of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.|Key Laboratory of Agriculture al Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Shikun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: College of Water Resources and Architectural Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.|Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid regions of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.|Key Laboratory of Agriculture al Soil and Water Engineering in Arid and Semiarid Areas, Ministry of Education, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Yubao
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: College of Economics and Management, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Feifei
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Xiaolei
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Tianwa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid regions of China, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, China.|Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, 712100, China.
authors.forename: Pute
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000254:growth & development; D062066:Water Resources; D014881:Water Supply