Water Footprint of Beef, Chocolate, and Wine
A widely cited global estimate from the Water Footprint Network puts the water footprint of a pound of beef at about 1,800 gallons, a pound of chocolate at about 3,170 gallons, and a gallon of wine at about 1,008 gallons. These convert estimates of roughly 15,415 L/kg for beef, 17,196 L/kg for chocolate, and about 870 L/L for wine into gallons and pounds.
This is a production-chain water footprint, not the volume directly withdrawn from rivers or water systems. It includes green water (rain used by plants), blue water (surface water and groundwater), and grey water (a theoretical volume for assimilating pollution to accepted standards). The figures are global averages and vary by place, farming system, product mix, and method; in these estimates most of the beef and chocolate footprint is green rainwater.