Water labels on food - Issues and recommendations
In many regions of the world, including parts of Europe, water scarcity will be one of the most pressing environmental, social and economic challenges of the coming decades. This report considers relevant policy and industry initiatives, and the value of labels in promoting sustainable water use and communicating this to consumers. The report ends with recommendations for industry and government.
In many regions of the world, including parts of Europe, water scarcity will be one of the most pressing environmental, social and economic challenges of the coming decades. Water is used in large quantities to produce the food we eat.
The water used to produce an item is far greater than the water contained within it. For instance, one cup of coffee needs 140 litres of water, while the production of one kilogram of beef requires 16,000 litres of water.
This report considers relevant policy and industry initiatives, and the value of labels in promoting sustainable water use and communicating this to consumers. The report ends with recommendations for industry and government.
Report contents
- Introduction
- Policy context
- Supply-chain initiatives
- Labels
- Recommendations
- References
Labelling for sustainability: Sustain has worked on nutrition and sustainability labelling issues since the alliance was established in 1999.
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