or not. nothing seems simple anymore! well, maybe drinking water is although in many parts of the world clean drinking water is not so simple. and look at california where mandatory conservation rules are in place with the possibility of several desalinization plants opening in the near future. we don't always think of how much water is used say in, for example, two popular drinks that happen to be on opposite ends of the health spectrum.
almond milk is rapidly gaining in popularity with most almonds being farmed in california. it has been estimated that it takes over a gallon of water to produce one almond. that's one almond! so think how much water each crop will need. the ingredients in most almond milks are: ground, toasted almonds, filtered water, added vitamins, minerals and natural flavors. some also have a stabilizer called carrageenan that is made from seaweed. instead, some brands use gellan gum that is a non-gmo fermented bacterial culture. wow. but that is thought by many to be "better" than the carrageenan. so the major concern here is the huge amounts of water needed to grow almonds on land that must be irrigated.
another popular drink-coca cola-contains the following ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, caramel color (to make heat sugar with sulfite and ammonia), phosphoric acid (burnt phosphorus is processed to have the arsenic removed), vanilla, cinnamon, kola nuts, caffeine, carbon dioxide and water. coca -cola is shipped around the world and if you add up all the water involved in making a can of coke (other sodas are probably similar in usage) plus the shipping it uses over 30 gallons of water-for each can!*
just something to think about the next time you have a drink of water, almond milk or soda.
*if you would like more details on this read "how to fly a horse" by kevin ashton. the book is about creativity in all of its many forms.
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