It takes an astonishing volume of water to grow a typical human diet: over 1000 gallons for what most of us will eat today. Here in Wisconsin and in the near future this does not appear to be a problem, but globally and looking forward to 2050, the water required to grow human diets may prove to be an enormous challenge. Earth’s population is sure to grow substantially, diets are changing toward requiring more water to produce, there is a persistent number of people who do not receive enough to eat each day, and we are coming to learn that we must reserve some water in rivers, lakes, wetlands, and in groundwater to keep ecosystems healthy. Can the global food system meet this challenge?