A pro-AI image about water use statistics is posted to r/antiai alleging that a hamburger takes 660 gallons of water to produce. The subreddit reacts with disbelief.
https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1ulgsxi/is_this_image_completely_made_up/
Context: A common point of contention in the AI debate is the alleged high water use (for cooling data centers) and environmental impact of AI. An image created by a pro-AI advocate is posted by an anti-AI user, asking whether the stats in the image are legitimate. The image compares the allegedly small water usage of AI to the [commonly cited](https://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-burger-20140124-story.html) figure of 660 gallons of water to create one hamburger. Commenters refuse to believe that it takes this much water to make one hamburger.
>[600 GALLONS for a SINGLE hamburger and youre asking if its bull shit?](https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1ulgsxi/comment/ov3tz2k/?utm\_source=share&utm\_medium=mweb3x&utm\_name=mweb3xcss&utm\_term=2&utm\_content=share\_button) (this has 600 upvotes)
>>Are they counting the bull that made the meat and the water drank by the cook?
In their eyes, life doesn't deserve water.
>>>What they're counting is how much water was used to grow the crops we use to feed cows. That said if were going that far back all food takes hundreds of gallons of water to make. So its pointless.
>>>>Even that does not make sense because its not like just one hamburger comes from that LMAO
>[Idk why everyone’s so skeptical about the hamburger number do y’all not know how much water it takes to raise cows? Beef production has been a huge driver of climate change for a long time it’s terrible for the environment im so sorry to say](https://www.reddit.com/r/antiai/comments/1ulgsxi/comment/ov40p0n/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=2&utm_content=share_button)
>>At least the water used to water cows, and grow their food, goes back into the water table and is reusable…
The water used by datacenters pollutes the nearby water and kills the fish
>>>Water used to irrigate feed crops or water cattle does return to the water cycle, but it is not guaranteed to return cleanly to the water table. Some of it evaporates, some is absorbed by plants, and some runs off into rivers and groundwater carrying manure, fertilizers, bacteria, and excess nutrients. That runoff can contaminate water, trigger algal blooms, reduce oxygen levels, and kill fish. The water remains part of the water cycle, but it may require treatment before it is safe for drinking or other uses.
I can’t believe people don’t realize that the cattle industry is one of the largest consumers of freshwater. It uses enormous amounts of water, much of it for growing feed, and a significant portion of that consumption is arguably unnecessary depending on what alternatives are available.