Korean Beef Industry as a Key Player in Resource Recycling

Recent reports from environmental organizations and some media outlets have claimed that "the greenhouse gas emissions from meat consumption per person in South Korea are equivalent to taking 21 flights to Jeju Island." This provocative message has drawn significant public attention, leading to the perception that meat on our tables is a major contributor to climate change, placing the domestic livestock industry at the center of environmental concerns.
 
However, a closer examination of the statistics reveals that this claim is based on a misleading standard and ignores scientific facts. The Korean Society of Animal Science and Technology, to which I belong, believes that a balanced explanation grounded in scientific evidence and data is necessary. According to our research, the first issue that needs correction is the fairness of the greenhouse gas accounting standards.
 
The report calculated the carbon footprint of livestock products by aggregating emissions from the entire process of feed cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, processing, slaughtering, and sales, arriving at a figure of 1,115 kg CO₂-eq. In contrast, the emissions from flights were measured solely based on the direct emissions from fuel combustion during flight. For a fair comparison, the aviation sector should also include emissions from aircraft manufacturing, jet fuel extraction and refining, airport construction and operation, and disposal stages. If one industry is scrutinized under a microscope while another is viewed through a telescope, it inevitably leads to a 'statistical illusion' that excessively highlights the negative impacts of the livestock sector.
 
An objective review of the national greenhouse gas inventory shows that the actual share of the domestic livestock industry is quite minimal. The energy sector, which includes coal power and gasoline vehicles, accounts for a staggering 86.9% of South Korea's total greenhouse gas emissions. In contrast, agriculture as a whole contributes only 2.9%, with direct emissions from the livestock sector at a mere 1.3%. Compared to the global transportation sector's emission share of 16.9%, South Korea's transportation sector stands at 13.5%, while livestock emissions are less than one-tenth of that. Despite this, singling out the livestock industry, which accounts for only 1.3% of total emissions, as a primary cause of the climate crisis while ignoring the energy sector's responsibility for 87% of total emissions is a distortion that obscures the essence of the issue.
 
Ignoring the scientific mechanisms behind these comparisons leads to critical errors. The carbon dioxide and methane emitted by livestock are part of the 'Biogenic Carbon Cycle,' where atmospheric carbon is absorbed by feed crops through photosynthesis, then returned to the atmosphere through respiration and manure. This represents a natural flow within the global carbon cycle. In fact, under the Kyoto Protocol framework, carbon dioxide (CO₂) emitted from livestock respiration is excluded from greenhouse gas calculations.
 
Conversely, the carbon emitted by aircraft or coal power plants comes from fossil fuels that have been trapped underground for millions of years, which humans extract and burn, adding new carbon to the atmosphere. Comparing these two scenarios is a disregard for the fundamental requirements of science.
 
Another truth about the livestock industry that we often overlook is its value as a 'resource-recycling industry.' The domestic livestock sector absorbs and recycles a significant amount of organic byproducts generated during food production and agricultural processing, serving as an environmental purifier. Byproducts such as wheat bran, soybean meal, and fruit processing waste from apples and oranges, if left untreated, would lead to substantial disposal costs and environmental pollution. Instead, these materials are recycled into high-quality feed ingredients through the livestock industry.
 
The domestic feed industry spends approximately 3.5 trillion won annually on purchasing these organic byproducts as feed ingredients. Without the livestock industry, the costs associated with disposing of these massive waste resources and the greenhouse gases generated during that process would have been transferred to society as additional social costs.
 
Even now, the domestic livestock industry is not merely voicing its grievances but is actively pursuing proactive reforms. The government and farmers are expanding low-carbon livestock product certification systems and developing and distributing low-methane and low-protein feeds. Efforts to shorten the age at which Korean beef is marketed and to expand biogas facilities for livestock manure are among the various measures being implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
 
The intent to protect the environment and respond to the climate crisis should not be undermined. However, the methods and data used in this process must be scientific and fair. An emotional approach that demonizes meat on our tables while ignoring the critical issues of fossil fuel consumption and energy structure transition must cease. The grievances of our livestock farmers and the Korean beef industry, which quietly play a role in resource recycling and strive to adopt low-carbon technologies, deserve to be addressed through the lens of objective science.