To make a burger, first you need 660 gallons of water ... (2024)

FAQs

To make a burger, first you need 660 gallons of water ...? ›

A 1/3-pound burger requires 660 gallons of water. Most of this water is for producing beef (see below). 1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water, which includes irrigation of the grains and grasses in feed, plus water for drinking and processing.

"Hamburgers, like many enjoyable things in life, have a resource-intensive production process. In addition to meat, burger production requires water — lots of it. The USGS estimates that it takes 4,000 to 18,000 gallons of water to produce a juicy hamburger, depending on conditions that cows are raised in.

One Hamburger is 2,400 litres of embedded water.

So much so that at around 2,000 litres per burger, the contents of an Olympic-size swimming pool would only amount to 1,250 burgers. And if you're fond of bacon and cheese toppings, the amount of water involved swells to as much as 3,000 litres.

A 1/3-pound burger requires 660 gallons of water. Most of this water is for producing beef (see below). 1 pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water, which includes irrigation of the grains and grasses in feed, plus water for drinking and processing.

Beef. It takes approximately 1,847 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef — that's enough water to fill 39 bathtubs all the way to the top.

Meat aside, other animal products we consume also require vast amounts of water. A pound of eggs needs 395 gallons of water to produce. A pound of cheese requires 382 gallons of water and a pound of butter requires 665 gallons of water.

If you're making the patties yourself (to save money or because you love making burgers), assume four burgers per pound of meat.

Classic burgers usually range in size from a quarter pound (4 ounces) to 6 ounces. So you choose, then divide your ground meat into even portions (if you want to get really exact, use a kitchen scale!) and loosely form it into balls.

Is pink slime still used? ›

In the US, the product is allowed to be used in ground beef, and it can be used in other meat products such as beef-based processed meats.

It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce just 1 pound of meat. Only 25 gallons of water are required to grow 1 pound of wheat. You can save more water by not eating a pound of meat than you can by not showering for six months!

According to the Sierra Club, the average cheeseburger requires 698.5 gallons to produce. That includes 22 gallons to make the bun, 4.5 gallons to grow the lettuce and tomato, 56 gallons to produce one slice of cheese and a whopping 616 gallons, from start to finish, to make the meat patty.

Nevertheless, research suggests that, on average, it takes about 1800 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, which translates to around 450 gallons for a quarter-pound hamburger.

Meat aside, other animal products we consume also require vast amounts of water. A pound of eggs needs 395 gallons of water to produce. A pound of cheese requires 382 gallons of water and a pound of butter requires 665 gallons of water.

Good thing this recipe is comprised of veggies and grains. When you calculate the water footprint of this recipe as is, it comes out to something around 800 gallons of water or around 1/7 of the water used for a beef burger. So, how about swapping in this recipe for your next burger night?