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charlieDD
Joined: 16 Jun 2006
Location: Seoul, Korea
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 Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:39 am Post subject: . . . |
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. . .
Last edited by charlieDD on Sat Jul 26, 2008 6:13 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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howie2424
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:07 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, I posted it over in another thread. Pretty funny really. One set of standards for US beef and another lower set of standards for Korean beef. Leads one to think that this whole controversy really has nothing to do with food safety.
And how safe is Korean beef? I guess this TV program wasn't as well viewed as the PD version dealing with US beef.
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More Madness: Now Korean Beef is Scrutinized
KBS' "News Issue Ssam" news program recently showed a sick cow being sold on the black market and heading to a slaughterhouse. According to a livestock trader in an accompanying interview, the slaughtered cow would be sold for human consumption. The program also said Korean cattle farmers imported feed that contained meat and bones until 2004, and it's uncertain where this feed -- the type believed to be the source of mad cow disease -- was used. The producers said the purpose of the program was to show that there is no 100-percent assurance that Korean beef, or hanwoo, is completely safe for consumption.
The contents of this program are probably true. Everyone knows there are weaknesses in Korea's food safety monitoring system. Korea has not registered to be classified by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) on the safety of its cattle against mad cow disease, so we don't know just how safe our beef really is.
But such programs can immediately trigger suspicions that hanwoo may come from infected cows. The images that prompted the groundless fears over U.S. beef were of American cows that couldn't stand up. But the disease that causes that symptom is different from mad cow disease. If hanwoo cattle showed the same symptoms, then the chances of mad cow disease would still be negligible.
The topic of food safety is a very sensitive one and even small incidents can lead to drastic drops in sales. Already, beef restaurants are said to be losing a lot of customers. Images and sounds related to food shown on TV can have an enormously destructive impact. The public will end up wondering what to do if even hanwoo is seen as dangerous to consume. The TV companies need to think about the impact they can have on society and whether this is reasonable.
Out of a global population of 6.7 billion people, not a single person this year has come down with Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, which is the human form of mad cow disease. Last year, only one person -- a Briton -- contracted CJD. It is right to prepare for all possibilities, but overdoing it can lead to problems. |
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200805/200805160027.html |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:28 pm Post subject: |
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| This whole controversy does have little to do with food safety. 2MB agreed to import American beef behind everyone's backs. People are mad at him and taking it out on American beef. |
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howie2424
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Underwaterbob said
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| This whole controversy does have little to do with food safety. 2MB agreed to import American beef behind everyone's backs. People are mad at him and taking it out on American beef. |
Actually you are wrong. It was former President Roh Moo-hyun who, quite publicly, agreed to resume US beef imports last year in accordance with World Organization for Animal Health guidelines. LMB is just making good on that agreement. |
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Underwaterbob
Joined: 08 Jan 2005
Location: In Cognito
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:45 pm Post subject: |
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| howie2424 wrote: |
Underwaterbob said
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| This whole controversy does have little to do with food safety. 2MB agreed to import American beef behind everyone's backs. People are mad at him and taking it out on American beef. |
Actually you are wrong. It was former President Roh Moo-hyun who, quite publicly, agreed to resume US beef imports last year in accordance with World Organization for Animal Health guidelines. LMB is just making good on that agreement. |
Ahh, OK. I, like most Koreans, was unaware of this. |
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Unposter
Joined: 04 Jun 2006
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:27 pm Post subject: |
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The problem is Roh Moohyun put a number of restrictions, especially no beef over a certain age.
LMB changed all of that, pretty much getting rid of all the restrictions, especially allowing beef over 30 months into Korea.
He then said the problem was in the translation of the English and apologized for the mistake but did nothing to change the outcome.
Some people thnk he negotiated a secret deal with Bush. Other people think he acted incompetently. Most people don't like the fact that he is making deals without consulting the public. Anyway you slice it, he f*cked up! |
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kentucker4
Joined: 03 Sep 2007
Location: Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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| My adult students and kids are all brainwashed. It's sad listening to an otherwise intelligent 50-something-year-old man talk about how safe Korean beef is and how US beef is a big reason for concern and that it's dirty. I swear, no one in this country actually researches anything. They just all believe the propaganda that is spread by word of mouth. Amazing really. One thing is for sure, I will never eat raw beef here like some of my adult students have advised me to try. |
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howie2424
Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Tue Jun 03, 2008 7:05 pm Post subject: |
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Unposter said
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The problem is Roh Moohyun put a number of restrictions, especially no beef over a certain age.
LMB changed all of that, pretty much getting rid of all the restrictions, especially allowing beef over 30 months into Korea. |
Another misconception. Do you have a reliable source for this? As far as I know he put no such restrictions in place during the final negotiations. In April 2007 Mr. Roh agreed to accept US beef imports in accordance with the safety standards mandated by the WTO and OIE. Those safety standards say US beef is now safe including certain portions of 30 month+ old cattle. Certain parts are deemed by the OIE to be unsafe, such as brains and spine and are destroyed in the butchering process stateside. They will not be imported to Korea. LMB just followed through on what Roh promised last year.
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| Some people thnk he negotiated a secret deal with Bush. Other people think he acted incompetently. Most people don't like the fact that he is making deals without consulting the public. Anyway you slice it, he f*cked up! |
People can think he made a secret deal all they like. They can believe in ghosts and Bigfoot too for all a president should care. If the world�s best scientists say the beef is safe and meets internationally recognized standards why should any responsible political official defer to the opinions of a bunch of housewives and middle school students? And isn�t that especially true when what�s at stake is a major FTA that will greatly help the country�s sagging economy. |
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