The food industry is a major water user. The food industry uses an estimated 430 mega litres per day of public water supply, and directly abstracts around 260 mega litres of water a day, which equates to 10% of water abstracted by industry in the UK.

The food and grocery industry is employing more water-efficient techniques to meet their own water requirements. However, the increasing demand on water is likely to go beyond direct water use, and we will need to start focusing more on issues such as embedded water and sourcing. To find out more and understand what industry is doing have a look at all our factsheets, articles and case studies on water.