Annie glanced up from her computer just in time to watch LJ dash out the front door. “What’s going on?” she thought, looking out the window.

Water was gushing down the street. The neighbor’s drip system hose had broken, spouting precious water into the air like a geyser. The break had gone unnoticed until LJ saw it. Annie followed him as he ran to the hose with a repair kit.

“Can I help?”

Please let Chad know his hose broke, and he should turn off the water.”

Annie rang the doorbell and waited.

“Hi Annie, what a nice surprise. Come on in.”

“I’d love to, Chad, but LJ noticed your drip system water hose snapped. He’s fixing it now and says you should turn off the water.”

“Oh no! Tell LJ the valve is on the side of the house. I’ll meet him as soon as I get it turned off.

Barb, Chad’s wife, walked up just in time to hear the conversation. “Thank God for LJ. I hope we haven’t lost too much. Just yesterday, we were sketching out a water conservation plan. All this drought talk has us worried. I hope we’re not looking at water rationing.”

Annie nodded, “I don’t think anyone wants to go through water rationing, but with this mega-drought, that is a distinct possibility.

“The Western U.S. and northern Mexico are experiencing

their driest period in at least 1,200 years” –  Nature Climate Change. 

The study says that our drought is caused by human-induced climate change.”

“That is why we moved to a plant-based diet about two years ago,” said Barb. We planted fruit trees and interspersed edible plants throughout our drought-tolerant landscape. This has helped reduce our grocery bill and our water footprint.”

“You and Chad are so smart. Research shows if everyone around the world shifted to a plant-based diet, water use would be cut in half, significantly reducing the issue of scarcity. It also saves farm animals that are only raised for slaughter and reduces the water used for agriculture. And plant-based diets help lessen obesity, chronic disease, arthritis, and cancer.”

“Right. Animal agriculture has an enormous environmental impact. It is one of the top contributors to global warming and deforestation. The industry uses massive amounts of water. Over eighty-three billion animals are raised for human consumption annually. About a third of the grain grown worldwide and 80 percent of the soy is fed to them, which requires 20 to 33 percent of all the fresh water available to produce. Growing soy for human consumption requires eight times less freshwater than the amount needed for beef.

Animal farming causes water pollution, like eutrophication, where a high amount of algae in the water is generated by tossed animal feed and feces. That also goes for fish farms that produce excrement and uneaten fish food that settles in the pond bottom, setting up the perfect environment to create the greenhouse gas methane.”

Barbara added, “A United Nations Report says plant-based burgers use 75-99% less water, 93-95% less land and generate 87-90% fewer emissions than the production of beef burgers. That was all the convincing we needed. It took about a year to find the plant-based foods we enjoy. I found several well-known Vegan Cookbooks, and that helped. We also use less water in the house by composting, so we rarely use the garbage disposal, and if we boil food, we let that water cool and use it to water our indoor plants.”

“Those are helpful tips. The right message about our current situation and recognizing water is no longer a commodity, but a precious resource can help others choose now to reduce their water usage,” said Annie.

“Yes, that change in behavior coupled with promising new water technologies, such as solar-powered desalinization plants and updated rainwater catchment systems, can be how we go forward managing water. However, the number one way to preserve the world’s water and save planet earth is to replace the consumption of animal protein with a plant-based diet and lifestyle.”

Annie and LJ are a fictional couple. Their storyline promotes healthy eating and earth-friendly practices.