Beef Imports to Korea: An Open Letter to President Bush Korean middle school student Chae-song Kim asks that the trade agreement be reconsidered

Beef Imports to Korea: An Open Letter to President Bush Korean middle school student Chae-song Kim asks that the trade agreement be reconsidered

Chae-song Kim (internews)

Published 2008-06-14 17:04 (KST)

Dear Mr. President,

Hello. I am an ordinary Korean teenager but I am not sending you this letter for an ordinary reason. I wanted to talk about something very serious with you. It is about the new agreement between the Republic of Korea and the United States.

Our countries are now both very sensitive about the beef issue. My belief is that free trade must be fair trade, as US ambassadors are on record as saying in the FTA between Peru, which means that both countries should benefit.

I admit that Korea has benefitted from trade in the areas of automobile exports, IT products, and cell phones. However, Koreans are very upset with their government. This is clear from the candlelight demonstrations in Korea, yet our government is saying that it is not possible to renegotiate the KORUS FTA agreement because of the federal government.

This is a photo that I took from the Seoul Plaza Hotel. There were more than 700,000 people gathered there. The news reported that only 19.7 percent said "yes" to President Lee. The rule about the trade agreement says, roughly, that within 20 days of the signing, if many citizens say "no" to the agreement, it is possible to make changes. What would be the problem to change the agreement now?

If the US and the Korean government do not accept people's opinions, the next generation of Koreans will have a negative image of the United States. We are trying not to buy products made in the United States and we do not respect our President. In the long term, demonstrations by Koreans will cause more damage to the US than changing this agreement would.

I've read that on March 20, 1996, BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) spread in the UK because prions are not destroyed until heated to 600 degrees Celsius.

This tells us that there is a high possibility of BSE infection in humans because even if humans cook their beef products thoroughly, prions are not going to be destroyed. Even the US Congress is saying that Canadian beef is dangerous and that the US shouldn't import Canadian beef aged over 30 months.

Even if Congress still says that Koreans have no proof about the dangers of BSE in US beef, we should err on the side of caution and emphasize prevention. Why would the European Union say "no", completely, to US beef? Why would the US itself not consume beef older than 30 months? The truth is that there is a possibility of it being very dangerous.

BSE has spread since the 1980s. Scientists say that it is caused by the use of animal feed made from cows that already have the disease. Since then, for 20 years, in countries all around the world, cows in countries like the United Kingdom, have consumed such feed and BSE became a serious problem. Along with Europe, in 2001 Japan detected BSE in cattle and in 2003, even the US discovered BSE in its stocks.

Regardless of this, I've been told that the United States is still allowing the production of feed based on cow parts. Also, without any outstanding symptoms, the cow is butchered and allowed to be exported. With this in mind, would Korean citizens feel safe about imported US beef?

I want to ask you: Wouldn't this agreement be beneficial to the US only in the short term? Couldn't this agreement be perceived as violating the rights of Koreans to feel safe? Please consider the result that this agreement could and will leave, both now and for the future.

I am considering going to an Ivy League college. If I succeed, and even if I don't, children in the States are my friends. Their family is my family. I just want my family in Korea and my US family to be healthy. I hope you’ll be remembered as a president who cared for citizens' health.

A concerned Korean student,

Chae-song Kim

http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?at_code=434590


Hello Chae-song Kim and the Honorable concerned Korean student,

Believe in what your heart is telling you. Your Countryman and Countrywoman should be proud of your stance to protect your people. Please continue your fight for the truth, as the truth will set us all free. ...TSS


full text ;

http://english.ohmynews.com/TALK_BACK/bbs_view.asp?mscssid=&ba_code=63&ba_status=&cur_page=&bb_page=1&bb_ord=N&bb_code=537170&bbsh_gb=S&bbsh_string=



June 11, 2008, 10:14PM

U.S. slams door on revising S. Korea beef

import pact Pressed at home, Seoul had wanted 30-month limit on age of the cattle

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5832282.html


http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-slams-door-on-revising-s-korea-beef.html


well, so the U.S. slams the mad cow door on Korea and it's people, due to the bungled beef deal the USDA shoved down Lee's throat. sadly, Lee signed the deal oblivious to what really has been going on behind closed doors for years here in the USA, and the USDA et al knew they had a fish on the line. my God, this guy was totally ignorant of what they were doing. now the kind honorable people of Korea will be force fed USDA certified beef. beef that has been highly suspect of mad cow disease since the USDA shut down testing, this after finding two cases of the atypical BSE in Alabama and Texas. remember, atypical BSE is more virulent than the UK BSE strain. Also, it seems the O.I.E. has sealed the deal on trading all strains of TSE i.e. mad cow disease strains globally, all for a buck, commodities and futures, to hell with human health. it's business as usual folks, eat up, and die old and demented, if your lucky. I must apologize to the kind honorable citizens of Korea for what my Government has done. I tried. But as the USDA certified beef starts to flood Korean markets, remember one thing Korea, you don't have to buy it. let it rot, until the USDA et al gets there head out of their pockets, and start to test all food producing cattle and all livestock for BSE and all TSE. CJD is a slow death while incubating. so you will not see the body bags all at once. as in the past here, it will be labeled as dementia, misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's and other dementia ailments. it will become an acceptable death as here in the USA due to the push by the industries and your Government due to the financial aspect of it. The OIE and my Government sold their souls to the devil, and if you don't believe me, just read the history. let it all be sporadic and or spontaneous they say, and make them eat it, and like it. that's their motto. to hell with the consumer. Every American and Korean consumer should be demanding 100% BSE/TSE mad cow testing on all livestock food producing animals, for humans and animals. This should be a no-brainer, but instead, it's a brain eater. Consumption of beef is but only one route of many, that can kill you from mad cow disease (all strains). friendly fire i.e. iatrogenic CJD from the medical and surgical arenas, dental, and blood, all are a real threat, from 2nd, 3rd, 4th passage, from someone that consumed meat from an animal with TSE. They can be long incubators, not clinical yet, but they can go on and infected many more via these routes, so please do not get hung up on the 'hamburger only' route. this is one of many routes, from one of many strains, from only one species. WE must take all Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies as the real threat they really are. DO NOT let the incubation period of all these documented TSEs in cattle, sheep, goats, deer, elk, mink, cats, do not let them fool you. The long term threat is very real, it's been real, and it's been ignored, all the while CJD is rising in the USA. all the time the USA has been shipping cattle and feed to God knows whom. again, it was the OIE, the USDA et al, and their BSE MRR (Minimal Risk Region) rule, that opened the gates to the exporting of all strains of TSE globally. This new rule set back the eradication BSE to the stone age, or back to day one in or around 1985, when BSE was first _documented_. The BSE MRR policy erased all attempted eradication of BSE. This will be one more of GWs et al sad, sad legacies that will go down in history as nothing more than what the UK did back when they failed to warn the world of their tainted cattle, MBM (greaves) etc. they just continued to ship it around the globe. BUT what the OIE, GW, and the USDA did was simply made it legal i.e. BSE MRR, the legal trading of all strains of TSE globally $$$

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

OIE Recognition of the BSE Status of Members RESOLUTION No. XXI (Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 27 May 2008)

snip...

http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/oie-recognition-of-bse-status-of.html


http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=1566


U.S. slams door on revising S. Korea beef import pact

June 11, 2008, 10:14PM

http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/us-slams-door-on-revising-s-korea-beef.html


Wednesday, June 11, 2008

OIE Recognition of the BSE Status of Members RESOLUTION No. XXI (Adopted by the International Committee of the OIE on 27 May 2008)

http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/oie-recognition-of-bse-status-of.html


http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?showtopic=1566


Saturday, June 7, 2008

Export Requirements for the Republic of Korea IMPORT HEALTH REQUIREMENTS FOR U.S. BEEF AND BEEF PRODUCTS

http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/export-requirements-for-republic-of.html


Why Americans, As Well as Koreans, Should Be Worried About Mad Cow Tainted USA Beef

By Terry S. Singeltary Sr. May 15, 2008

Straight to the Source

Web Note: This is an important commentary by Terry S. Singeltary Sr., on a recent Business Week story on the controversy in South Korea over their government's lifting on the ban on conventional (non-organic) beef, despite the fact that the USDA is still allowing slaughterhouse waste and blood and manure to be fed to cows, and refusing to test all cows at slaughter. See the Mad Cow section of the OCA website for in-depth information. Terry is a regular blogger on the OCA website on Mad Cow issues.

Ronnie Cummins

One Korean official says the probability of a human being catching a mad cow disease by eating U.S. beef is like the one of a golf player scoring a hole-in-one and then being killed by lightning.

this is typical BSe. you here industry groups comment 'your more likely to get hit by a car than die from CJD'. well, maybe so, but my mother and many more did not die from getting hit by a car, they died from CJD, my mothers being the hvCJD (confirmed), and my neighbors mother died from CJD (confirmed). the UKBSEnvCJD _only_ theory is incorrect. there are more strains of mad cow than the UK BSE in beef to nvCJD in humans in the UK. The deception by the USDA, FDA, and the Bush administration about mad cow disease, CJD, and all Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy over the past 8 years have been outrageous, to a point of being criminal. I am vested in nothing, but the truth.

snip...see full text ;

http://www.grassrootsnetroots.org/articles/article_12387.cfm


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Concerned Americans against Mad Cow Disease STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY with Koreans May 13, 2008

http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/05/concerned-americans-against-mad-cow.html


http://flounder068.vox.com/library/post/concerned-americans-against-mad-cow-disease-statement-of-solidarity-with-koreans-may-13-2008.html


http://www.koreantopnews.com/story.php?title=USDA_VS_KOREA_typical_or_atypical_BSe_Concerned_Americans_against_Mad_Cow_Disease_STATEMENT_OF_SOLIDARITY_with_Koreans_May_13_2008


BSE YOUNGEST AGE STATISTICS UNDER 30 MONTHS

http://bseyoungestage.blogspot.com/


http://flounder068.vox.com/library/post/bse-youngest-age-statistics-under-30-months.html


Portsmouth woman did not die of mad cow-related condition, USDA says UPDATE Updated Jun.17, 2008 08:34 KST

U.K. BSE nvCJD ONLY theory invoked again. it's like still believing the world is flat for pete's sake i.e. the one strain, one country, one age group, one species, one route, only theory. it's pure BSe, and the stench is horrendous. it's the smell of death, for profit only.

THE UKBSEnvCJD _only_ theory is incorrect. there are more strains of mad cow than the UK BSE in beef to nvCJD in humans in the UK. The deception by the USDA, FDA, and the Bush administration about mad cow disease, CJD, and all Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy over the past 8 years have been outrageous, to a point of being criminal. I am vested in nothing, but the truth.

snip...

Please remember, the last two mad cows documented in the USA i.e. Alabama and Texas, both were of the 'atypical' BSE strain, and immediately after that, the USDA shut down the testing from 470,000 to 40,000 in the U.S. in 2007 out of about 35 million cattle slaughtered. also, science is showing that some of these atypical cases are more virulent to humans than the typical UK BSE strain ;

***Atypical forms of BSE have emerged which, although rare, appear to be more virulent than the classical BSE that causes vCJD.***

Progress Report from the National Prion Disease Pathology Surveillance Center

An Update from Stephen M. Sergay, MB, BCh & Pierluigi Gambetti, MD

April 3, 2008

http://www.aan.com/news/?event=read&article_id=4397&page=72.45.45


In this context, a word is in order about the US testing program. After the discovery of the first (imported) cow in 2003, the magnitude of testing was much increased, reaching a level of >400,000 tests in 2005 (Figure 4). Neither of the 2 more recently indigenously infected older animals with nonspecific clinical features would have been detected without such testing, and neither would have been identified as atypical without confirmatory Western blots. Despite these facts, surveillance has now been decimated to 40,000 annual tests (USDA news release no. 0255.06, July 20, 2006) and invites the accusation that the United States will never know the true status of its involvement with BSE.

In short, a great deal of further work will need to be done before the phenotypic features and prevalence of atypical BSE are understood. More than a single strain may have been present from the beginning of the epidemic, but this possibility has been overlooked by virtue of the absence of widespread Western blot confirmatory testing of positive screening test results; or these new phenotypes may be found, at least in part, to result from infections at an older age by a typical BSE agent, rather than neonatal infections with new "strains" of BSE. Neither alternative has yet been investigated.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol12no12/06-0965.htm


IF BSE is not in the USA (just not documented for many different reasons), and only atypical BSE is in the USA (plus CWD, plus, many strains of Scrapie, and Now the Nor-98 documented in 5 different states, plus TME, then why would human mad cow in the USA look like the UK nvCJD from UK BSE cows ? it was shown long ago in studies at Mission Texas that experimental transmission of USA Scrapie to USA Bovine, DID NOT LOOK LIKE UK BSE. so again, in short, why would human mad cow in the USA look like human mad cow in the UK i.e. the (nvCJD). however, I believe that BSE has been in the USA untested and undocumented for years. why on earth then does the USDA refuse to allow creekstone or anyone else test their product? simple, if you don't look/test, you don't find.

snip...

> He added that because the CDC only provide information on diseases, they have no plans

> to make a separate press release on the issue including the result of the investigation.

and that is the way they plan to keep it, all spontaneous, sporadic, no route, no source $$$

USDA, CDC, NIH, ET AL INVOKE THE UKBSEnvCJD ONLY RULE $$$

Virginia Woman Did not Die of vCJD

Updated Jun.17,2008 08:34 KST

The MBC news program "PD Diary" reported that Aretha Vinson died of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD) in early April when in an interview, Vinson's mother actually said, "The results had come in from the MRI and it appeared that our daughter could possibly have CJD," not vCJD.

please see full text ;

http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/06/portsmouth-woman-did-not-die-of-mad-cow.html


NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy

Issue: Volume 18, Number 2 / 2008 Pages: 145 - 156 URL: Linking Options

Mad Cows and Computer Models: The U.S. Response to BSE

Frank Ackerman and Wendy A. Johnecheck

Abstract:

The proportion of slaughtered cattle tested for BSE is much smaller in the U.S. than in Europe and Japan, leaving the U.S. heavily dependent on statistical models to estimate both the current prevalence and the spread of BSE. We examine the models relied on by USDA, finding that the prevalence model provides only a rough estimate, due to limited data availability. Reassuring forecasts from the model of the spread of BSE depend on the arbitrary constraint that worst-case values are assumed by only one of 17 key parameters at a time. In three of the six published scenarios with multiple worst-case parameter values, there is at least a 25% probability that BSE will spread rapidly. In public policy terms, reliance on potentially flawed models can be seen as a gamble that no serious BSE outbreak will occur. Statistical modeling at this level of abstraction, with its myriad, compound uncertainties, is no substitute for precautionary policies to protect public health against the threat of epidemics such as BSE.

http://baywood.metapress.com/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,5,18;journal,1,41;linkingpublicationresults,1:300327,1


Owner and Corporation Plead Guilty to Defrauding Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) Surveillance Program

PLEASE SEE FULL TEXT ;

Monday, June 16, 2008 Mad Cows and Computer Models: The U.S. Response to BSE

http://bse-atypical.blogspot.com/


kindest regards, terry

Hello Chae-song Kim and the Honorable concerned Korean student,

Believe in what your heart is telling you. Your Countryman and Countrywoman should be proud of your stance to protect your people. Please continue your fight for the truth, as the truth will set us all free. ...TSS

full text ;

http://english.ohmynews.com/TALK_BACK/bbs_view.asp?mscssid=&ba_code=63&ba_status=&cur_page=&bb_page=1&bb_ord=N&bb_code=537170&bbsh_gb=S&bbsh_string=


Terry S. Singeltary Sr. P.O. Box 42 Bacliff, Texas USA 77518