“Your Water Footprint”: Interview with Stephen Leahy (vegetarian), Part 1 of 2

Stephen Leahy is an international environmental journalist from Canada. In 2014, he released his book, “Your Water Footprint: The Shocking Facts About How Much Water We Use To Make Everyday Products.” Filled with informative graphics, the publication won the Lane Anderson Award for best science writing in Canada. For his work in documenting climate change impacts and solutions, Stephen Leahy also earned the Sustainability, Environmental Achievement, and Leadership (SEAL) Award for Environmental Journalism in both 2018 and 2019. “Water is our most important resource. But what we don't realize is we need water for everything else we have in our lives. There isn't anything that isn't made with water. Water footprint is the amount of water that it takes to make something.” “Water scarcity is a growing problem. Two in five people already experience water scarcity. That's going to go to three in five by 2025. This is a big part of climate change, but it's also the way in which we use water. We use water in poor ways, generally, around the world.” “Governments aren't aware of the water footprint concept, generally. They're generally, again, unaware of how much water it takes to do anything, to make anything, how much industries and our entire lifestyle is reliant on water. Agriculture takes about 70% of the world's water use. So, of all the water that we use as a species, agriculture accounts for 70% of it. so the question is: are we doing the best type of agriculture that minimizes the water use? In almost every case, we're doing the wrong things when it comes to our water use in agriculture, from irrigating deserts where most of the water is wasted, to this emphasis on meat production, which is a much more water-intensive way of producing food than just simply growing crops, and grains, and fruits.”