[소와 기후변화]
Greenhouse gases from meat eating
More than the world’s transportation means
10kg of carbon dioxide for beef broth
What is the carbon footprint of the beef you ate during the Lunar New Year holidays?
To humans, cows are animals that are grateful, sorry, and troubled. Except for yawning and farting, everything is useful, but the methane gas emitted by one cow is 70-120 kilograms per year, and a lot of land and water is needed to raise a cow. yunhap news
After the Lunar New Year, the true year of cattle begins. Babies born from the 12th, the day of New Year’s Day, become cattle. This year is the year of the white cow among the cows because it is the New Year, which means the white color out of the 10. In the zodiac, the direction of the cow is north-north-east, the time is 1 to 3 a.m., and the month is the lunar month of December. At the end of December last year, ahead of the new year, the National Folk Museum held the’New Year’s Academic Lecture’. Jeong Yeon-hak, a curator at the National Folk Museum of Korea, who gave a presentation on the day, defined the relationship between cows and humans, saying, “The cow was the property of the farm, a member of the family, the labor force essential for farming, and the greatest victim of the ritual.”
In November 1995, a man plows a field with a plow to plant garlic in Sangsin-ri, Gongju-si, Chungcheongnam-do at the foot of Mt. Gyeryong, and a woman is picking a field. yunhap news
A cow with nothing to throw away except yawn
Let’s start with proverbs related to cattle. There are many expressions that have insight into the various aspects of cattle. ‘I can’t farm without cows’ is an expression that emphasizes the importance of cattle, which was a means of labor and transportation. Farmers analyze that’there must be a slender neck, straight spine, strong legs, and rounded hoofs to work well’. One way to increase farm household income was to feed skinny cows well, add flesh, and sell them at a higher price in the market.
In addition to this, the proverb, “A cow has 12 virtues even without words,” is an expression that compares the appearance of a cow that is not in a hurry and is relaxed even for most things. In fact, cattle have been regarded as calm animals in the Toga. On the other hand, there is also a proverb that’it looks like a cow dead ghost’. It is an expression that compares the personality of a stubborn cow with a strong tendon and a stubborn person. The word’woogoltop’ is a term that metaphors the university that was established in the 1960s~1970s with college tuition made with money for the sale of cows, the first farmhouse property, and it melts the lives of ordinary people, saying that money sold for one cow can be sent to college. I mean.
On the 8th of last month, the minimum temperature in the morning in Gangwon-do fell to -29.1 degrees Celsius, and ice is on the beard of a cow in the barn house in Sinbuk-eup, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do, which recorded the strongest cold wave this winter. yunhap news
30% of the world’s water and 45% of land are used for livestock
The cow’s natural life span is 20 to 30 years, and from the age of 2 to 3, she worked for about 10 years and treated it with care like a family afterwards. A movie showing the companionship of cows and humans <워낭소리>Resonated a lot to the city dwellers, and when it was released in 2008, it broke the record for the highest audience (292 million) of Korean independent films.
As the society changes from an agricultural-oriented society to an industrial society, cows are increasingly recognized as a’food street’ by urban residents. The proverb that’a cow has nothing but yawn’ is a grateful and sorry animal that is a source of quality protein that cows can eat from head to tail, bones, and milk, and is also used as a bag, shoe (leather), or craft (horn). Because it is. Cows that give birth to calves are usually exchanged for calves at the cattle market in about 10 years, and meat is mainly eaten by slaughtering bulls. Cows whose milk has been reduced after several years of milking are also eventually slaughtered for meat. Cows give humans all of their own.
A 2008 logging site on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Around the world, 4,000 square meters of rainforests are disappearing per second for livestock. Environmental groups have pointed out that the act of clearing the jungle and creating arable land to raise the genetically modified grains that cattle eat is accelerating climate change. EPA Yonhap News
On the other hand, the traces left by cows are acting as a burden on humanity. The 2013 film accuses the reality of environmental destruction caused by the livestock industry. While saying to protect the environment, they point out that those who eat meat are hypocrisy and contradictory. The reason is that the rainforest is disappearing at a rate of 4,000 square meters per second due to the livestock industry, and the jungle is being removed and cultivated land is being made to grow genetically engineered grains that cows eat. The movie explained that 9500 liters of water were needed to produce 450 grams of beef. It is pointed out that 30% of the world’s water and 45% of the soil are being used by cattle breeding to support the meat-eating culture. For this reason, more and more people are interested in the problem of climate change caused by increased consumption of meat and dairy products.
On the afternoon of November 6, last year, World Environmental Exploitation Prevention Day, in Gwanghwamun, Seoul, citizens’ gathering for the Vegan world and members of the Korean Vegetarian Federation are calling for vegetarianism to solve the greenhouse gas problem and the climate crisis. yunhap news
What is the carbon footprint of the beef rice cake soup you ate?
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has identified’meat eating’ as the main culprit of climate change. In fact, methane gas from burping, farting and manure in cattle and pigs has a greenhouse effect that is more than 20 times stronger than carbon dioxide. Although carbon dioxide is the world’s No. 1 greenhouse gas in emissions, it has a very strong ability to heat the earth by catching the heat of methane gas, so efforts to reduce methane gas are needed. In particular, the average amount of methane gas emitted by one cow, a ruminant, per year is 70-120 kg on average, and the combined methane gas emitted by 1.5 billion cows around the world amounts to 150 million to 180 million tons. It accounts for nearly 15-20% of the global greenhouse effect. It accounts for more than 13% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than the amount of greenhouse gases generated by transportation.
Because of this, more and more people choose vegetarian food as a method of climate movement. Park So-hyun (24), an office worker who shares YouTube content created by the climate change team and the climate change youth group Big Wave, also started vegetarian in 2019 when he realized the seriousness of climate change. Park said, “The reality that soil and water are polluted and abused for meat consumption is a problem that can lead to a war over food security. Through vegetarianism, we can prevent disasters that are predicted when the climate crisis gets worse.”
What is the carbon footprint of 100g of beef, which is the ingredient of beef rice cake soup eaten on New Year’s Day? Greenpeace quotes data from the Agricultural Technology and Commercialization Foundation, and emits greenhouse gases of 10.01kg, Gomtang 9.74kg, Galbitang 5.05kg, Bulgogi 3.48kg, Yukgaejang 3.01kg, beef radish soup 1.92kg, and beef jangjorim 1.37kg based on carbon dioxide. He said. In comparison by food, 1 kg of rice is 4 kg, tofu 3 kg, fish (culture) 5.1 kg, poultry such as chicken and duck 6.1 kg, pork 7.2 kg, cheese 21.2 kg, lamb 24.5 kg, and beef 59.6 kg. By Choi Woo-ri, staff reporter [email protected]