What is the water footprint of your Christmas Eve dinner?

Climate change is slowly but steadily reducing the chances of a white Christmas. For most of us, it has become clear that Christmas doesn’t have to be extravagant because what we take today might be lacking in just a few years. Christmas Eve dinner is a perfect opportunity to start thinking about celebrations from the perspective of ecological responsibility and conserving limited resources. This year, try to reduce water consumption during preparations to support the disrupted hydrological cycle!

Water is snow and life on earth

You might shrug off the idea of the water footprint of your Christmas Eve dinner – can the losses in your kitchen really have any significance for the world? The answer is yes, as you represent one of nearly 200 million households in the European Union. Every drop of water saved should be multiplied by 200 million, which translates easily into liters…

Drinking water is drawn from surface and underground sources – if you use less, more remains in nature. This means a reduced risk of droughts, agricultural crises, and crop failures, as well as a better chance for snow. Saving water also protects ecosystems and reduces energy consumption for pumping and purification, which translates to lower emissions. Unfortunately, global water consumption has increased sixfold since the beginning of the 20th century!

How can you save water while preparing christmas eve dinner?

Most Polish families spend the pre-Christmas period in the kitchen cooking, baking, kneading, and decorating. Liters of water flow from the tap, often unnecessarily. How can you maintain Christmas culinary traditions while being mindful of your water footprint? Here are some practical tips:
• Do not buy live carp or keep them in a bathtub – not only is it cruel to the animals, but it also wastes tens of liters of water.
• Wash fruits and vegetables in a bowl, and use the leftover water to water your Christmas tree.
• Cook vegetables for salads in the smallest amount of water possible – just enough to cover them slightly.
• Cook dumplings and ravioli in the same water, replenishing as needed. Reheat them in a pan or microwave, not in boiling water.
• When boiling water for tea or coffee, only boil the amount you need.
• If you are baking a cake, plan your work to dirty as few dishes as possible.
• Never thaw food under running water!
• Only run the dishwasher when it is fully loaded.
• Soak dirty pots and pans before washing them by hand, then clean them in a sink filled with water.
• Use minimal amounts of dishwashing liquid to save water during rinsing.

A good idea for Christmas Eve dinner is baked carp instead of fried. Not only is it a healthier, less fatty option, but it also reduces fat usage, which too often ends up in the sewer. Wastewater containing oil is harder to clean, and hardened fat can even block pipes.

Remember the water footprint of food products

The water footprint of your Christmas Eve dinner isn’t just about household waste. The choice of individual food products also has far-reaching hydrological consequences. Foods with the highest water footprints include beef, nuts, lamb, pork ham, eggs, and dairy products. A cup of tea requires five times less water than a cup of coffee, and beer has a significantly lower water footprint than wine.

Of course, not everything can be avoided, but you can certainly learn to make more water-conscious decisions. This year’s Christmas Eve dinner can be a small change with a big impact!