AI data centres are being criticised for the water they use, but one kilogram of beef can require roughly 15,000 litres to produce — a staggering reminder that some of the biggest environmental costs are still sitting on our plates

AI data centres are being criticised for the water they use, but one kilogram of beef can require roughly 15,000 litres to produce — a staggering reminder that some of the biggest environmental costs are still sitting on our plates

One kilogram of beef takes roughly 15,000 litres of water to produce. One medium-length chatbot reply takes about a mouthful. Both figures come from published research, and only one of them has ever filled a town hall with furious residents. I’ve run each of these numbers before, separately: the beef figure in one piece, the data centre figure in another. Nobody has put them side by side, and once you do, the current fight over server farms look…