Spatiotemporal Heterogeneity of Water Footprint Based on Food Consumption in the Yellow River Basin

In the Yellow River Basin, the lack of water supplies is now the largest obstacle to both environmental preservation and socioeconomic growth. The fact that inhabitants’ diets may be altered to save water, however, is gravely underappreciated. Based on the water footprint theory, we examined the water footprint structure and the dynamic evolution process of food consumption in the Yellow River Basin from 1999 to 2019 in this study. The key factors affecting the water footprint of food consumption were then identified by using the STIRPAT model modified by the partial least-squares method. The findings indicate the following: (a) There had been an increase in the Yellow River Basin’s overall water footprint of food consumption from 1999 to 2019, with the midstream region having the biggest water footprint of food consumption (410.8 billion m 3 ) and the highest percentage increase (86%). (b) In the Yellow River Basin, the water footprint of meat eating was 36% while the water footprint of grain consumption was 30%. The lower Yellow River had the greatest water impact per person due to food consumption. (c) Urbanization rate played a promoting role in the upper Yellow River provinces, and GDP and irrigated area played a promoting role in the lower Yellow River provinces. The results of this study are expected to provide scientific support for the decision-making of healthy and water-saving diets in the Yellow River basin.