Of Salads and Sludge

You may want to hold your nose for this one. A new study reveals where water goes when you flush the loo–basically, in your salad. In a survey of 53 countries, the International Water Management Institute (IWMI) found that the majority of produce cultivated in urban plots is irrigated with water from polluted streams, lakes or wells. While only 10 percent of global agriculture is harvested in cities (and only part of that crop is consumed raw), some 1.1 million farmers produce greens and fruit for 4.5 million people in the areas studied. Project the numbers worldwide, and at least 200 million farmers rely on recycled water to sow 20 million hectares, an area twice the size of Hungary.

Read More
Source: http://www.newsweek.com/id/156336

Locations:
Funders & Partners:
Research:

Related Articles