The impact of China and India’s, among other nations, development is creating a huge demand for water. As nations industrialize, the amount of water used by the population rises exponentially, with 22,000 m3 of water being required for every one million dollar increase in GDP. As an example, Canada uses over 30 times as much water per capita as Kenya.

As nations become richer, people consume more water through clothing and food production. Every pair of leather shoes requires 2,113 gallons of water to produce and a daily diet of an egg, toast and juice for breakfast, a barbeque chicken sandwich for lunch and lasagna with garlic bread and salad for dinner consumes nearly 900 gallons of water through its production.

Source: Wired Magazine, FAO Aquastats and the California Farm Water Coalition

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