Korean Job Discussion Forums

[zeppelin]

[SOOHWA101]

[aka Dave]

[/quote]

Agreed. I want cheap beef, but the Koreans need to find another catalyst for their little "rejection to change" movement.

And no one in the states gives a rats ass what's happening right now. Most of my friends don't even know about it back home. I just hope they don't start burning American flags in the streets..it might get ugly after O'reilly gets wind of that.[/quote]

To be honest, I was checking fox news (faux news, home of morons) and they carried an AP story about the protests on their website. But it gained no traction, there was literally no one picking up the story, and that's on ultra-nationalist moronic fox news.

So, like I said, ban it, and we all move on. If fox isn't gonna pick this up, no one will.

[Captain Corea]

[Dome Vans]

[SOOHWA101]

Edited due to "possibly" being offensive.

[Dome Vans]

[SOOHWA101]

[charlieDD]

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200805/200805290019.html


Tougher Safety Standards for Korean Beef

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on Wednesday said it will release new enhanced safety standards for Korean beef probably early next week, when it promulgates sanitary conditions for U.S. beef imports.

Major points in the ministry's new safety standards are to restrict the slaughter of so-called "downer cows", strengthen the ban on animal byproduct feeds, and expand BSE testing -- the measures internationally recommended to prevent the outbreak and spread of mad cow disease.

A ministry official said, "Korea is a BSE-free country, as no mad cow disease has ever broken out. We've just enhanced the safety standards for Korean beef as many people called for such a measure due to renewed U.S. beef imports."

Last year, Korea applied to the world organization for animal health (OIE) for a country risk assessment for BSE. As a result, Korea was rated an "undetermined risk country", the lowest of three grades. The others are "negligible" and "controlled� risk. At the time, the OIE explained Korea had not done adequate BSE testing and had not clearly defined its ban on the use of animal byproduct feeds.

Woo Hee-jong, a professor of veterinary medicine at Seoul National University, said since BSE could theoretically break out in Korean cattle, �we must enhance safety standards by taking active measures including drastically increasing tests for mad cow disease."

([email protected] )

We'll recall here that the OIE has rated the U.S. beef industry the higher assessment of "controlled risk". So, the OIE is saying that the American beef is safer, mad-cow-wise, at "controlled risk" than Korean beef at "undetermined risk", its lowest scoring.

I was especially intrigued by how many in the Korean cattle industry are likely still using feed containing animal by-products. The Korean government has no firm idea whether it is is being used or not, apparently.

And apparently, Korean "downer" cattle are being slaughtered still.

After reading this article, you can easily imagine that mad cow cases have happened in Korea and simply gone unnoticed because there simply aren't sufficient measures in place in Korea to detect them.

[meangradin]

At first, I thought this was another example of Korean hysteria, but when I actually talked to my korean friends and students, I have to confess that I started to understand their point of view. Basically, as mentioned in previous posts and by the OP, Koreans dont want the meat of cows that are over 30 months old, which is not out of line, as NO other counrty on Earth allows this type of meat to be imported. How can anyone argue with Koreans wanting the same standard? Furthermore, and this is the big question for Koreans, why did LMB agree to import this type of beef?

[Poemer]

There are many different opinions about FTa's and their merits/demerits. I won't pretend to know who is getting the better deal in US/Korea's FTA. I do know that American beef producers are happy and Korean auto producers are happy.

Personally, I was annoyed by the beef protests because I watched the Korean programs that were spreading a variety of innacurracies, distortions and outright lies concerning BSE and VJCD: Koreans are more prone to contracting VJCD (not one shred of evidence to support such a claim), the characterization of cows in America being absolutely ridden with BSE (depending on your source their have been 1-3 cases of BSE and 0-3 cases of VJCD, the first confirmed BSE case in the US that set off the bans in Korea, etc. was a dairy cow imported from Europe via Canada no less) and the idea that the US was trying to sell Korea its low quality beef.

Everybody knows that the US exports a lot of beef, #2 in the world in exports in fact. But, how many people know that the US is also the #1 IMPORTER of beef? How can this make sense? Well, its because the majority of beef raised in the US is high-quality beef intended for grocery stores, restaurants and export. This is beef that can be sold profitably as a quality product, at home and abroad. Now, the imports--low quality beef from abroad for the fast food industry which has a huge demand for cheap beef. There is plenty of demand for low-quality beef in the US, it doesn't need to export any of it, it already has to import huge amounts to meet demand.

Before the ban on US beef there were no regulations whatsoever on what got imported to Korea, no age restrictions, nothing. Almost everything that was imported was at least choice grade meat, the only higher rating is prime. There is no reason to believe that things will be any different after the ban is lifted.

VJCD is only contracted from eating cow brains, spinal column and other spongy organs. Cows over 30 months old are at higher risk. According to the new agreement ALL high-risk materials will be removed from cows over 30 months. No brains, no spinal columns, no organs. The meat from such cows is perfectly safe and while the 25 dollar steak you eat at a nice restaurant isn't from a 2 and a 1/2 year old cow, that meat has its uses as other people have already pointed out. We eat it in the US. Japan and other countries will soon be eating it as well, because they are all in negotions with the US, just as Korea has been, and are expected to agree, just as Korea has. I don't know if it is in their best interests to do so, but it is a false argument to say, "no one else imports it." Everyone else used to import it and they are at the very least least thinking about doing so again. It isn't as if the Korean government is way out of line on this, they are just first in line.

People have right to protest, people have a right to be dissatisfied with their elected officials. They have a responsibility to be active in their countries governance, but they also have a responsibility to be informed.

[No_hite_pls]

[Captain Corea]

[Captain Corea]

So, I decided to head over to Lotte Mart on my way home for lunch today and pick up a few things.

I swung past the beef section and wanted to find "4 steaks for 8,000won".

I didn't find it.

The best I could find was this.


That's thinly sliced Aus beef. I haven't eaten it yet, so I can't vouch for it, but for something similar in Hanoo beef, it was 20,000+

So, almost $10 for 530gm.

So, for you Americans, that's about two 9 oz (thin) steaks (and not the prettiest cut mind you).

I'd love it if I could buy something more akin to this:




((also, I've Pm'd zeppelin to come back to this thread to share his shopping secrets with us. Apparently, if he's got he hook up for four steaks for 8,000 won, he wants to keep it to himself. Personally though, I think he's full of shit))

[howie2424]

meangradin wrote