Water footprint of a 5 kg bag of washed potatoes

Climate change and water scarcity increasingly impact agricultural systems. Therefore, studying food systems in depth through a water footprint perspective and their effects on water resources is necessary. Potatoes are one of the most widely consumed foods globally. This article analyzes the water footprint of a 5 kg bag of washed potatoes using a life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology. A cradle-to-gate model is created, and four environmental impact assessment methods are applied to determine the impacts on water resources. The results obtained are consistent across all four methods, indicating that water consumption in the potato washing stage has the most significant impact. The second highest water consumption occurs during the agricultural cultivation phase. Furthermore, this agricultural phase has the highest impact on other water-related categories, including such as Water Pollutants, Persistent Organic Pollutant (POP) into Water, Heavy Metals into Water, and Radioactive Substances into Water.