South Korea Is Delaying Re-Entry of U.S. Beef Due To Mad Cow Protests

Posted on May 16, 2008 by Mad Cow

South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry is delaying the resumption of beef imports from the United States to consider the many protest petitions it has received from its “Mad Cow-phobic” population.

The delay isn’t going over very well in Washington, D.C. where Congressmen say the Free Trade Agreement with South Korea won’t be approved unless the government in Seoul fully opens its market to American beef.

Prior to being locked out of South Korea in 2003 when a cow from Canada immigrated to Washington State where it was found to be contaminated with Mad Cow disease, the Asian nation was the third largest foreign market for American beef. The industry badly wants back in.

Standing in the way are the protest rallies that have been held every day since the pact was announced. More than 1,700 civic groups are involved in the street protests, and 1.3 million have signed a petition against the re-entry of U.S. beef to their country. Korean ranchers, who have enjoyed not having competition from Americans, and opposition political parties are keeping the pot well stirred.

For an American view of what this all means, may I suggest you check out Martha Rosenberg who gives all of this her own special viewpoint in the May 15th issue of CounterPunch.

Rosenberg, a rare editorial cartoonist who writes, caught our attention by including a list of people who’ve died from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the U.S. during the past nine months. Like Mad Cow, C-J is a prion disease.

Rosenberg writes:

Seven people have died from probable Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in the U.S. in the last nine months including Connie Albert of Lincoln IL and Roger Leon Dalton of Willis, VA in Aug. 2007; Roland Lacey and Ray Norris--who lived within three miles of each other near Stanton, DE--and a 79-year-old woman in Milwaukee, WI all in Dec 2007; a 53-year-old man in Colby, KS in Jan. 2008, a former meat worker, and Aretha Vinson of Portsmouth VA in April.


While public health officials are quick to rule CJD "sporadic," not meat-caused--even before brain biopsies or when it's in clusters (hello)--to forestall panic about food and hospital safety, Aretha Vinson presented a perfect storm for U.S. trade officials:

 

Not only was she young at 22 and her family outspoken--"She has not traveled overseas. She's not even been to the Midwest," said her mother, adding she "wasn't the only one who ate this food,"--the news broke in the middle of the Bush/Lee summit.

Rosenberg's point is that concern about Mad Cow disease in the U.S. beef supply is not unfounded.   We agree.  Nor do we think the South Korean public is acting in a sane and rational manner.

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Chin Lee, MD - June 5, 2008 1:00 PM

You need to get all the facts including those from the Korean people. The Korean people are doing a peaceful protest to ask their government to reconsider the trade agreement. The Korean people are requesting the imported beef be from cattle no more than 30 months old and not contain any bone, brain, spinal, or intestinal matter. If one were to examine the import guidelines for Japan they would find the beef must be of no more than 20 months old and have no bone, brain, intestinal or spinal matter. What the Korean people are requesting is not unreasonable given the current global climate. Think of it this way...if the Korean government were trying to send beef to America, wouldn't we as Americans expect our government to impose certain guidelines to offer the best protection possible to it's people? As a Korean-American I feel the Korean government should be ashamed of themselves. They are elected officials and NOT salespeople and should stand up for the people as opposed to folding under the pressure of "big brother". A bad agreement made by government officials does not imply support or compliance by the country's people...the Korean people are NOT cattle to be led to the slaughter but rather voicing outrage and should be commended for doing so in such a noble manner as peaceful protest.

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