How much water does it take for a pizza (and not only)? How to save her one meal at a time

The water crisis is today a problem that affects everyone: for this reason, the World Water Day established by the United Nations is an opportunity to reflect on how and where we use our water resources every day. Starting with the meal. According to the FAO report “Food wastage footprint” the Global food production consumes around 70% of the world’s freshwater resources. Also, the huge amount of Global food waste accounts for 24% of all water used for agriculture.

With 40% of all food ending up in waste, food waste has a huge impact on the environment. Therefore, reducing food waste means reducing water waste. The anti-waste app draws attention to the “hidden” water in what we eat Too good to go which, on the occasion of the World Water Day has chosen to highlight the quantity of water necessary to produce some of the foods consumed by Italians.

Just to give an example, a single apple requires about 125 liters of water to grow throwing it away means also wasting all the water used for its production.

The water hidden in everyday food

Water footprints can vary depending on where they are grown and the methods used, but they give an indication of the significant amounts of water needed to produce food. In particular, here is the calculation of our flow rates (source: Water Footprint):

• PASTA: the global average water footprint of wheat is 1,827 litres/kg, or 913 liters for a 500 gram package. Approximately 80% of this quantity is used for wheat cultivation. This is a global average, which varies according to the origin of the grain. For example, in the case of Italy, pasta made with local wheat has a water footprint of 1,410 litres/kg.
• PIZZA: the global average water footprint of a margherita pizza (about 725 grams of product) is 1,260 liters of water. The production of mozzarella is responsible for about 50% of the total use of water, soft wheat flour for 44% and tomato puree for about 6%.
• SALAD: the global average water footprint of lettuce is 240 litres/kg.
• CHOCOLATE: the production of 1 kg of chocolate requires around 17,000 liters of water, most of which is used for the cultivation and processing of cocoa beans. A tablet of about 100 grams therefore requires 1,700 liters of water.
• MEAT (beef): per kilogram of product, animal products generally have a higher water footprint than plant products. The global average water footprint of beef is 15,400 litres/kg.

Reducing food waste: how?

The recent achievement of 200 million meals saved from Too good to go, the app born in 2015 in Denmark which today has over 62 million users, demonstrates how companies can work to have a positive impact on the planet. It should be considered that food waste not only negatively affects precious resources, such aswaterfallThe ground and thepowerbut also aggravates the CO emissions₂. To give a measure, with this milestone Too Good To Go has helped to save the equivalent of 500,000 tons of CO₂. A goal achieved with 134,000 active commercial partners and 75 million registered users in 17 countries and motivated to leave a significantly positive impact on the planet.

In Italy the nearly 6 million users of the Too Good To Go app, together with 24,168 partner companies, have already saved more than 12 million meals (thus avoiding nullifying the emission of over 22,500 tons of CO₂), over 5 million in 2022 alone.

How Too Good To Go works

Too Good To Go allows bars, restaurants, bakeries, pastry shops, supermarkets and hotels to recover and sell online – at discounted prices – unsold food “too good to throw away” thanks to Surprise Bags, “bags” with a surprise selection of fresh products and dishes that cannot be put back on sale the next day. App users just have to geolocate and search for participating establishments, order their own Surprise Bag, pay for it via the app and go and collect it in the specified time slot to find out what’s inside.

“Addressing the food-water connection will require a collaborative effort from governments, civil society organizations and the private sector, as well as major investments in research and development of sustainable food and water systems,” he said. Mirco Cerisola, Country Director Too Good To Go for Italy. “By saving food from waste, the Too Good To Go community not only helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with food production, but also makes a significant contribution to water conservation.”