Water on My Plate

Learn more about all the water resources that go into the food on your plate!   This is known as a "water footprint" - a measurement of freshwater used to produce food products, from farm to table and every step in between.  This water use adds up in surprising ways and makes a "footprint," a mark or imprint, on earth's water cycle and ecology.  

Keep in mind that as the water is used, it is not used up - like all water, it continues its journey through the water cycle, but the quality is often degraded along the way due to the ways it is used (for example, pollution caused by farming or factories).  Another important interrelated concept to consider is that energy consumption always accompanies water use - pumping, treating, heating & filtering water consumes energy (that has to be produced in some way: burning fossil fuels, nuclear, hydro, solar, wind).  Thus, these environmental impacts, or "footprints" go hand in hand (the concept of carbon footprints can be introduced in this lesson as well).

After introducing these concepts to students and discussing all the ways a water footprint adds up (growing, washing, processing, packaging, cleaning, etc), this flashcard game can be played in a few ways on "Flippity."  Follow the links below and explore the tab options across the top to play online as a flashcard deck, a matching game, a quiz, or even create a printable quiz as a follow-up activity.