The analysis showed that the water footprint of a consumer in South Africa is, on average, to a large extent determined by consumption of livestock and cereal products. A change in the consumption pattern, thereby reducing meat consumption, can reduce the water footprint of consumption significantly. This has been shown by Vanham et al. (2013) in detail for European diets. This will certainly be a challenge, as per capita incomes are rising and the demand for meat is increasing. Awareness of consumers must be raised regarding this issue.