An economist says Australia should consider developing a labelling system to identify how much water is used to produce various products. Some goods such as washing machines already have efficiency labels to help people make choices based on water or energy use.

James Hazelton from Macquarie University in Sydney is at an international water conference in Adelaide, urging that a similar system be developed for other products such as food.

He says giving the information on water intensive products such as rice and meat would help consumers make more informed choices.

"The majority of water consumption is by agricultural industries and in particular things like rice..."

View original article:  http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/04/15/2217435.htm