<Reporter Shim Young-gu>
This is the Anmyeondo Climate Change Monitoring Center in Taean, Chungcheongnam-do.
The greenhouse gas observed here is the representative value of Korea.
During the last corona period, global greenhouse gas emissions decreased by about 7%, the largest decrease since World War II.
It should be said that it was fortunate among misfortunes, but it did not improve as a result.
430.3 ppm, the average value of the carbon dioxide concentration measured last month.
This may be tentative, but it was an all-time high.
We are not alone.
The average for April at the world's representative Hawaii Observatory was also the highest since observations began.
Although greenhouse gas emissions have decreased somewhat due to the corona crisis, the concentration is increasing as it accumulates more than decomposes.
If the amount of greenhouse gas emissions increases again, it will inevitably lead to a situation that is difficult to deal with.
The Climate Exploration Report, today (26th), will take a look at our food and carbon emission issues.
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<Reporter Seo Dong-gyun> This
is a livestock farm in Daejeon.
Cows that have been fed feed constantly lick their mouths.
You are chewing the cud again by recalling swallowed food.
Cows often burp during this process of chewing cud, which also generates methane gas, a greenhouse gas.
In particular, methane has a greenhouse effect up to 80 times stronger than carbon dioxide, and one cow emits about 50 to 100 kg of methane gas per year.
The methane emitted by cows can be seen in space.
This is a satellite image taken by a Canadian company last February.
Methane emissions were detected in an area in California, USA, and when I checked the bolded area, it was a cattle barn.
It is estimated that this livestock house emits 5,116 tons a year, which accounts for one-sixtieth of the greenhouse gas emitted from the semiconductor process in Korea a year.
In Korea, greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock industry have increased by more than 1.7 times compared to 30 years ago.
As meat consumption increases, more are raised.
In a situation where it is difficult to reduce the number of cattle without a social consensus, attempts are being made at the government level to reduce the greenhouse gas emitted by cattle.
[Lee Yoo-kyung / National Academy of Livestock Science, Dr.: Digestive juice itself is a complete microbial mass.
(They're the main (cause?) of later methane.) Yes.
Those kids are now included here.] When the
cow's digestive juices are mixed with methane-reducing substances and cultured for one day, methane is significantly reduced.
[Lee Yoo-kyung / National Academy of Animal Sciences, Dr.: At the stage of research, the methane reduction effect is up to 40% effective at the laboratory level…
.]
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the livestock sector by 30% by 2030 by improving low-methane feed and manure treatment.
(Video coverage: Kim Gyun-jong and Lee Yong-han, video editing: Yoon Tae-ho, design: Kim Hong-shik, Ban So-hee, Eom So-min, Jeon Yu-geun)
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<Anchor>
As you can see, the livestock industry has begun to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but meat consumption is growing as it is now. Under these circumstances, it is difficult to see a great effect.
Recently, in consideration of such meat consumption and environmental problems, there is an increasing number of vegetarians or alternative meats made with plant-based ingredients, which was reviewed by environmental reporter Jang Se-man.
<Reporter Seman Jang> This
is a vegetarian restaurant that will open tomorrow.
All of our gourmet courses are made from vegetarian ingredients.
The main dish is the meat substitute steak.
You can feel the unique flavor of the steak, from the aroma of the meat, to the juiciness to the texture.
[Park Ji-hye / 'Forest Kitchen' tasting party attendee: It has a texture that feels soft like mushrooms and chewy like real meat.] The
quality has improved, so nutrients such as protein are already on par with meat of the same weight.
The industry explanation is that while meat substitutes are still not as good as raw meat, hamburger steaks made with minced meat have become quite similar.
[Jeon Eui-taek/Director of Jiguin Company: The aroma that rises when protein is cooked, then the juice of meat, etc., are the trend that vegetable substitutes are now following (you can see)]
The domestic substitute meat market is still 20 billion won .
Although it is at a price level, it is predicted that by 2040, 60% of the global meat market will be replaced by meat substitutes.
Large domestic companies are also entering the business one after another by opening specialized stores.
The number of vegetarians in Korea is estimated to be around 2 million, which was largely due to the increased participation of young people who are interested in animal rights and the environment.
[Lee Won-bok/CEO of the Korean Vegetarian Federation: (In the past) middle-aged people in their 40s and 50s preferred vegetarian diets for reasons of health or adult diseases, but now people in their 20s and 30s are choosing vegetarians for reasons of environment and animal rights.
] Some local governments, including local governments, are collecting information on vegetarian restaurants and publishing them online to make vegetarian food easier to access.