By Kim Sun-ae
Industrial animal farming is one of the major causes of global warming. The sector's greenhouse gas emissions represent 14.5 percent of all human-induced emissions, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Greenhouse gases including methane, which is emitted especially in the process of industrially raising cows, have caused the climate crisis.
Also, to cultivate grain for animal feed on a large scale, people have destroyed a large part of the Amazon rainforest, which stabilizes the climate and plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity. If these trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, continue to be cut down, more greenhouse gases will remain in the atmosphere, and that will accelerate the increase of the earth's temperature.
Then is it alright if we eat cows and pigs raised in Korea? According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute report, "Agricultural Outlook 2022," Brazil is one of the major exporters of corn animal feed to Korea. Moreover, Korea imports most of its soybean meal from South American countries, including Brazil. In 2021, Korea imported more than 90 percent of its soybean meal from Brazil. These facts mean that even if Koreans eat cows and pigs raised domestically, we cannot help contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
We live in an era of industrial agriculture in which people are raising countless numbers of animals on an unprecedentedly large scale. Although humans make up just 0.01 of a percent of all living things' biomass, we have destroyed 83 percent of all wild mammals since the beginning of civilization, according to Professor Ron Milo of the Weizmann Institute of Science and his research team's paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018. Of all of the mammals on Earth, 60 percent are farmed animals (mostly cows and pigs), 36 percent are humans, with only 4 percent are wild. The study shows that now chickens and other poultry account for 70 percent of all birds on this planet, and just 30 percent of birds are wild.
More people will eat less meat if they come to know that industrial animal farming has worsened the climate crisis. I know some people who started to reduce their meat consumption after knowing this fact. Most people do not know the extent of the impact of the current factory farming system.
Instead of blaming or criticizing those who eat meat, it would be better to share information about how industrial animal farming affects the climate, the ecosystem and the farmed animals who want to live just like us. If we can learn about this issue in schools and civil society, I believe that more people will change their diets, even a little. We are beings who can make changes when we know the effects of our actions.
Every small change in our diet ― for example, choosing vegetarian meals whenever we can ― is meaningful. Small actions, when accumulated, can lead to big changes. Changing our diets can be one of the most powerful solutions to the climate crisis.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/dancinglf) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."
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Also, to cultivate grain for animal feed on a large scale, people have destroyed a large part of the Amazon rainforest, which stabilizes the climate and plays an important role in maintaining biodiversity. If these trees, which absorb carbon dioxide, continue to be cut down, more greenhouse gases will remain in the atmosphere, and that will accelerate the increase of the earth's temperature.
Then is it alright if we eat cows and pigs raised in Korea? According to the Korea Rural Economic Institute report, "Agricultural Outlook 2022," Brazil is one of the major exporters of corn animal feed to Korea. Moreover, Korea imports most of its soybean meal from South American countries, including Brazil. In 2021, Korea imported more than 90 percent of its soybean meal from Brazil. These facts mean that even if Koreans eat cows and pigs raised domestically, we cannot help contributing to the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
We live in an era of industrial agriculture in which people are raising countless numbers of animals on an unprecedentedly large scale. Although humans make up just 0.01 of a percent of all living things' biomass, we have destroyed 83 percent of all wild mammals since the beginning of civilization, according to Professor Ron Milo of the Weizmann Institute of Science and his research team's paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2018. Of all of the mammals on Earth, 60 percent are farmed animals (mostly cows and pigs), 36 percent are humans, with only 4 percent are wild. The study shows that now chickens and other poultry account for 70 percent of all birds on this planet, and just 30 percent of birds are wild.
More people will eat less meat if they come to know that industrial animal farming has worsened the climate crisis. I know some people who started to reduce their meat consumption after knowing this fact. Most people do not know the extent of the impact of the current factory farming system.
Instead of blaming or criticizing those who eat meat, it would be better to share information about how industrial animal farming affects the climate, the ecosystem and the farmed animals who want to live just like us. If we can learn about this issue in schools and civil society, I believe that more people will change their diets, even a little. We are beings who can make changes when we know the effects of our actions.
Every small change in our diet ― for example, choosing vegetarian meals whenever we can ― is meaningful. Small actions, when accumulated, can lead to big changes. Changing our diets can be one of the most powerful solutions to the climate crisis.
Kim Sun-ae (blog.naver.com/dancinglf) wrote "Old Potato, New Potato" and translated "Little Lord Fauntleroy."
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