From Fracking to meat processing: By Julie Peller Ph.D.

Green Junction: From fracking to meat processing

Amidst the global water crises, our modern society continues to use and pollute staggering amounts of fresh water. This is particularly alarming considering the significant role of fresh water in numerous industrial processes. From fracking to meat processing, and even recycling, these industries consume millions of gallons of fresh water, often without proper management. The resulting water pollution further exacerbates the scarcity of fresh water, a crisis that demands immediate attention. 

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, uses water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure to break underground rock deep into the earth and mine fossil fuels, such as gas and oil. Between 2 and 16 million gallons of water, mostly surface or groundwater, are required per fracking well. During the mining, the chemical water mixture is subject to further contamination by deep-earth substances, including toxic and radioactive elements. According to the US EPA, “the majority of fracking wastewater is managed by disposing via underground injection where that water can no longer be accessed or used.” The agency also states that this option is only feasible in some fracking areas, requiring other methods of safe disposal of the highly contaminated water. By and large, this industry’s environmental protections/regulations have been late.

Our increasing reliance on electronics requires data facilities for computing and network equipment to collect, process, store, and distribute data. In addition to the massive energy requirements, these data centers typically use between 1 and 5 million gallons of fresh water daily. Meat processing centers require water for washing slaughtered animals and for sanitizing facilities. A Union of Concerned Scientists study found that Tyson Foods (the world’s 2nd largest producer of chicken, pork, and beef) discharged over 18.5 billion gallons of wastewater in 2022.

The bottom line is that fresh water is threatened for many reasons, including and beyond the ones described here. A recent headline read, “How millions in Mexico City can run out of water next month.” According to the World Health Organization, in 2022, 27% of the global population did not have access to “safely managed drinking water service.” 

“We forget that the water cycle and the life cycle are one.” Jacques Yves Cousteau     

Julie Peller, Ph.D., is an environmental chemist (Professor of Chemistry at Valparaiso University ). She has been writing a weekly column called The Green Junction for the past seven years and is helping to move the call of Laudato Si to action forward. Her Research Interests are advanced oxidation for aqueous solutions, water quality analyses, emerging contaminants, air quality analyses, Lake Michigan shoreline challenges (Cladophora, water, and sediment contaminants), and student and citizen participation in environmental work.