Pigs in Chinese rivers and World Water Day

Vicki Hird

22 March 2013

Why all the dead pigs in the river? And other stuff on World Water Day

The mystery of how more than 13,000 dead pigs ended up in a Chinese river will no doubt be solved. Perhaps it was 'just' a deadly pig virus and Shanghai farmers using unsavoury disposal methods. But it's been clear for decades that large scale pig rearing can be a major water hazard due to huge volumes of toxic manure produced.

Today, the UN's World Water Day shines a spotlight on the issue of access to clean, fresh water. Friends of the Earth groups and others across the globe are fighting to protect drinking water supplies and important wildlife areas. As well as marine and biodiversity impacts, there is conflict over access to water in regions where it's in short supply, and many people lack access to fresh water and sanitation.

Here in the UK we daily look to the skies or the TV to see if floods or drought are looming. Large parts of Britain experienced an exceptional winter drought in 2011-12 - leading to concerns about over abstraction and waste - followed by one of the wettest summers in decades. Climate change has an impact on water supplies and water cycles so curbing emissions is a priority. We also see a serious risk to water management and habitats from the proposed UK planning free-for-all and concern is growing over the risk of water poverty adding to fuel and food poverty.

Water, water everywhere?

Water may seem abundant but... that's not really true. Although the Earth has 1.4 billion cubic kilometres of water, only 0.001% of that is accessible for human consumption and use. And 70% of water is used for agricultural purposes.

There is a huge amount of 'virtual water' which companies around the world use daily to make the things we buy - from food to clothes to smartphones? This water footprint often goes unnoticed, but is placing increasing pressure on our planet's limited supplies of freshwater. For example, Apple sold around 93 million smartphones in 2011 - producing these used enough water to fill Wembley Stadium more than 80 times. Friends of the Earth's Make It Better campaign is calling for companies to take responsibility for how they use water to ensure we're not left high and dry.

A couple of watery things you can do

1. Right now there is an imporant campaign to encourage a million European citizens to demand new EU legislation implementing the UN human right to water and sanitation, and promoting the provision of water and sanitation as essential public services for all. Please do show your support here.

2. Working out your personal water footprint - the amount needed to produce the car you drive or the burger you eat - is hard. That's why you should support our Make It Better campaign which is calling for companies and governments to do more to reduce the water in products.

3.One way to reduce pollution and your water footprint is by eating less meat which is very water intensive to produce. If you're eating pig meat you could cut back a bit and use organic - so the pigs' welfare is ok, to avoid farm antibiotics and the lower stocking rates may even mean less water pollution. 

Do tell me what you think about World Water Day and how we use water - join the Land Use Food and Water hub.   Follow me on Twitter @vickihird