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5.1       More systemic responses are needed

Agricultural water problems have been resistant to policy interventions not only because of challenges in the implementation of environmental and agricultural policies, but also because the underlying drivers of agricultural production have been insufficiently tackled. These drivers are diverse, and include demand for food, energy and fibre. Without addressing these drivers, and the social, economic, political, institutional and technological systems that shape consumption patterns, it is likely that policy interventions will continue fixing the symptoms rather the roots of environmental degradation, which is most likely going to increase under a changing climate if no adaptation measures are taken.

5.1.1        European food systems and their pressures on the water environment

Food systems and water

A food system can be defined as all the elements (environment including climate, people, inputs, processes, infrastructures, institutions, etc.) and activities that relate to the production, processing, distribution, preparation and consumption of food and to the outputs of those activities, including socio-economic and environmental outcomes (HLPE, 2014).

European food systems today exhibit diverse characteristics across the continent. Small-scale family-based producers supplying short supply chains operate alongside large-scale globalised food companies and suppliers. However, European food systems have also evolved greatly during the 19^th and 20^th century, from predominantly local systems of exchange into complex international networks of production, consumption and trade.

Food systems create pressures on the water environment during the production of agricultural commodities, and along the whole processing, distribution and consumption chain. Assessments suggest that most pressures, through emission of nutrient and chemical pollutants and freshwater use, arise during the production of agricultural commodities, followed by industrial processing into food and drink products (Castellani et al., 2017). Water is also lost through food waste. In the EU, most food waste occurs at the distribution and consumption stage, totalling around 88 million tonnes of food along the supply chain, including the household level, with corresponding estimates as high as EUR 143 billion (Stenmarck et al., 2016).

Drivers in food systems

Demography and diet are central drivers of the food system, and therefore influence significantly the overall impact of food consumption on the water environment, sometimes calculated as the land or water footprint of specific products. Europe is a major player in the global agricultural commodity market (Chapter 2) and therefore a major driver of consumption patterns.

 Between 1950 and 2015, the EU-28 population increased from 380 million to 505 million (EEA, 2019c). while the average per capita consumption of animal protein is 50% higher than 1950 and double the current global average (Westhoek et al., 2011). Estimates suggest that the EU agricultural land footprint, i.e. the area of cropland and grassland necessary to produce the EU’s food requirements, is about 203 million ha, of which 76% is associated with livestock production (Fischer et al., 2017). Not all of this area is in Europe, a large share of European consumption stems from outside the EU.  The EU-28 food consumption footprint was equivalent to 17 million ha of cropland and 21 million ha of grassland outside the EU (Fischer et al., 2017).

European demand for food products, in particular meat and dairy, plays a role in agricultural production in Europe and worldwide. Dairy and meat production lead to large emissions of nutrients and chemicals (Chapter 3), but also results in water consumption, due to the large water quantity needed for animal feed. For instance, the production of bovine meet has the highest water footprint (i.e. 15,415 liters per kg of meat), compared with sheep and goat meat (i.e. 8,763 liters per kg), pig meat (i.e. 5,988 liters/kg) and chicken meat (i.e. 4,315 liters per kg), largely due to the difference in animal size and life span. Nearly 98% of the above water footprints for livestock refers to the water demand of crop production used as animal feed and grazing lands. In Europe, a large proportion of animal feed is imported, driving unsustainable water use in export countries (Rosa et al., 2019).

Overall, animal products represent 53% of the EU consumptive water footprint in food, followed by cereal and beer (11%) and vegetables, fruits nuts and wine (9%) (Vanham et al., 2013). Diets vary between European countries; thus the significance of different food products in the water footprint vary across Europe. The highest water footprint arising from food consumption is by southern countries, followed by eastern countries (Vanham et al., 2013).

5.1.2        Other consumption systems and water

Agricultural commodities are also used in the broader bioeconomy for the production of energy, textiles, paper, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. Bio-based products can be made from cereal, oil, sugar and fiber crops, straw and organic waste. Their production respond to different drivers than food products, and have in recent years received significant attention at EU level. Overall, the estimated cropland area for EU-28 consumption of non-food agricultural product is around 28 million ha and thus much smaller than for food products. Around 65% of the area is situated outside the EU (Fischer et al., 2017; Bruckner et al., 2019). In Europe, around 10 million Ha or 5% of the agricultural area is used for non-food agricultural products (i.e. bioenergy, textiles, chemical industry, etc).  

Bioenergy and water

Bioenergy refers to a range of energy sources based on biological matter. Bioenergy from agricultural sources are typically produced as liquid biofuels to work as substitute to diesel and petrol, from maize, rape, palm oil, sugar beet, and sugar cane. These first generation biofuels are complemented by a range of next generation, or “advanced”, biofuels and bioenergy sources which are assumed to require less input, be more resilience and produce higher yields. These energy sources draw energy from a larger range of agricultural products, such as energy crops from grasses and reeds, agricultural residues and waste streams (e.g. food waste).

Bioenergy is part of the energy portfolio of the European Union in its decarbonisation efforts and expansion in the use of renewable energy (EC, 2019d). By 2030, the EU aims to have at least 32% of renewable energy, and by 2020, it aims to have 10% of the transport fuel come from renewable sources such as biofuels. Fuel suppliers are also required to reduce the greenhouse gas intensity of the EU fuel mix by 6% by 2020 in comparison to 2010. The average share of renewable energy in transport in the EU-28 was 8% in 2018 (EEA, 2019j). which is mostly met through consumption of biofuels.

About 62% of the feedstock used in biodiesel and 79% in bioethanol originated in the EU in 2012, mostly from rapeseed, wheat, maize and sugar beet (Hamelinck et al., 2014). The remaining was imported as e.g. palm oil, soybeans and maize feedstock or as final product from various regions, including Indonesia, Argentina, US, Australia, and Malaysia.

Europe’s production and consumption of bioenergy, in particular biofuels, has raised concerns about their environmental impacts in Europe and worldwide, for example through the expansion of agricultural land into biodiversity-rich and high carbon stock lands such as forests and peatlands (EC, 2019d; Strapasson et al., 2019). Estimates put European use of land for biofuel consumption at around 8 million ha (Hamelinck et al., 2014), while global consumption is associated with an estimated total of 81 million ha in 2011.

Concern is particularly high with regards to the large water demand associated with biofuel production.  For instance, European production of bioethanol is associated with irrigated maize grown under water scarce conditions in Mediterranean regions and in France and Romania (Vanham et al., 2019). Assessments indicate that, of all energy sources used in Europe, biofuels generate the highest water footprint (Vanham et al., 2019).

However, it is also important to note that the water demand of imported biofuels is even greater, due to less efficient production methods abroad. Imports of biodiesel represent 64 billion m³ of water compared to 1 billion m³ from European sources. Overall, it is estimated that a majority of maize consumed for biofuel in Europe is produced under severe water scarcity (Vanham et al., 2019).

The wider bioeconomy amd water

Other bioeconomy value chains are based on a variety of crops and agriculture byproducts. Traditional fiber crops grown include cotton, flax, hemp, bamboo to make textile, but also building materials, cosmetics, medicines and chemicals. Cotton – a high water demanding crop- is by far the widest cultivated fibre crop worldwide, with more than 30 million ha corresponding to 80% of the global natural fibre production. Europe produces 1.2% of the world cotton. A range of new crops are being grown in Europe, such as miscanthus, giant reed, switchgrass and bamboo, which are low-input, high yields crops. They can be used for papermaking, building, biopolymers, and bioenergy purposes. Competition with synthetic material and a more favourable policy environment for food producing crops has nevertheless so far limited the growth of fiber crops.