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Welsh Water (Dŵr Cymru) was forced bow to public anger and delete an online message which encouraged people to go meat-free to save water.

A Facebook post, which included a picture of a pig being washed in a bucket of water, was removed around three hours after it was published.

The message was captioned: “Nearly one third of agricultural water use is related to animal products.

“Try going meat free for just one day.”

Before it was deleted, Facebook users lampooned the post and described it as “disgraceful”, “shocking” and “ridiculous”.

Llanfairfechan livestock farmer Gareth Wyn Jones was among dozens who poured scorn on the message.

“I wonder how much water is lost in leaks?” he said.

“And our vegetables and fruit need water too. The majority of our livestock drink water from natural sources.

“Who came up with these stats for Dŵr Cymru?”

(Image: Facebook/Welsh Water)

Welsh Water later issued an apology, saying it had not intended to upset customers.

It said the one-off post was part of the UK-wide Water Saving Week campaign run by Waterwise, an independent organisation.

Among its tips Waterwise cited global estimates of the large amount of water required to produce beef.

But this was described as “misleading nonsense” by Welsh meat body Hybu Cig Cymru (HCC).

Warning that global figures should not be taken out of context, it said research had shown such numbers were almost meaningless in rainy countries like Wales.

HCC chief executive Gwyn Howells said water-conscious consumers should have no concerns about eating Welsh Beef and Welsh Lamb.

“Estimates that it takes between 14,000 and 17,000 litres of water to produce a kilo of beef are misleading nonsense if taken out of context,” he said.

“This demand could undoubtedly place a burden on resources in drier parts of the world, but in Wales the vast majority of water consumed by livestock falls from the sky as rain.

“In water-rich countries, as little as 0.4% of the total water needs of livestock production is ‘blue water’ from public supplies.”

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Welsh livestock farming uses 'green water'

Per ton of product, or even per calorie, animal products generally have a larger water footprint than crop products – for beef it’s reported to be 20 times larger than for cereals and starchy roots.

However this varies widely around the world, depending on local conditions.

NFU Cymru condemned Welsh Water and said farmers had been appalled by its “unbalanced and unprovoked attack”.

The union said livestock production in Wales is almost entirely grass-based, with 85% of the water used coming from rainfall.

In contrast imported food was often from countries where water scarcity is more prevalent – something the Waterwise message failed to mention, said NFU Cymru president John Davies.

He said he was “bitterly disappointed” and that Waterwise’s portrayal of livestock farming was “entirely unfair and without foundation”.

“Farmers should not have to spend their time defending themselves against misinformed attacks of this nature,” he added.

“Farmers should be left to do what they do best.”

(Image: David Powell/North Wales Live)

Some crops, such as cocoa, have water footprints comparable with beef or even higher.

Cotton has caused drought in countries like Australia, while demand for avocados is said to be sucking Chile dry.

The Farmers Union of Wales said the country’s livestock farmers should be spared criticism of excessive water use as they are rarely short of the stuff – unlike intensive operations in the US and elsewhere.

“British supermarkets are selling thousands of tonnes of avocados from Chile, where villagers claim water is being diverted from illegal pipes to irrigate their crops, causing wells to dry up,” said FUW policy officer Charlotte Priddy.