A new study presented to the U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development stresses the need to produce more nutrition using less water.

One of the key findings of the report is that today, unlike during the "Green Revolution" of the 1960s, it is consumers – not producers – who are driving global food production. With massive urbanisation and increasing wealth, food preferences are changing with significant increases in the demand for meat and dairy products. It takes 550 liters of water to produce enough flour for one loaf of bread. This is a fraction of the up to 7000 liters of water that is used in developed countries to produce 100 grams of beef.