Sent: Thursday, August 07, 2008 2:14 PM Subject: South Koreans Fill Streets of Seoul to Continue Protest Against US Beef Imports
South Koreans Fill Streets of Seoul to Continue Protest Against US Beef Imports
For the past two months, protesters have been filling the streets of Seoul condemning a decision to lift a ban on imported beef from the United States. We speak with Michael Hansen, senior scientist for Consumers Union. He is in Seoul, where he is testifying before the South Korean National Assembly at a special committee hearing on mad cow disease.
For the past two months protesters have been filling the streets of Seoul condemning a decision to lift a ban on imported beef from the United States. On Wednesday I talked Michael Hansen in Seoul, senior scientist for Consumers Union. He is in Seoul where he is testifying before the South Korean National Assembly at a special committee hearing on mad cow disease.
Michael Hansen, senior scientist for Consumers Union. He speaks to us from Seoul, where he is testifying before the South Korean National Assembly at a special committee hearing on BSE.
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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
http://yacomitservice.com/php/eng/board.php?board=kkkqna&page=4&command=body&no=84
http://www.designtv.co.kr/tc/101
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.pressian.com/Scripts/section/article.asp?article_num=60080519121918
http://blog.etnews.co.kr/nanofood/137892
http://news.msn.co.kr/article/read.html?cate_code=1200&article_id=200805191405451200
http://yallang.blogspot.com/2008/05/what-would-i-like-to-read.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
[Source: New York Times] ????
[Source: Organic Consumers Association] ????
Why Koreans Still Reject U.S. Beef: Stop the Madness By Michael Hansen The New York Times, June 20, 2008
OpEd by Michael Hansen, a senior scientist at Consumers Union
THE Korean beef market, once the third-largest import!er of American beef, has shut its doors to the United States. Why? Because Koreans are worried about eating meat tainted with mad cow disease, which can be fatal to humans. Recent attempts by Korea's president, Lee Myung-bak, to reopen the market have brought tens of thousands of demonstrators to the streets in protest.
American beef producers could easily allay those fears by subjecting every cow at slaughter to the so-called rapid test, which costs about $20 per carcass and screens for this brain-wasting disease in a few hours rather than days. But the United States Department of Agriculture won't allow that.
In 2004, Creekstone Farms in Arkansas City, Kan., wanted to test the cattle it slaughters to comply with the wishes of its Korean and Japanese customers. But the department ruled that the rapid test could only be used as part of its own mad cow surveillance program, which randomly checks about 1 in 1,000 dead and slaughtered cattle in the United States every year. The sale of the kits to private companies is prohibited under an obscure 1913 law that allows the department to prohibit veterinary products that it considers "worthless."
Creekstone sued the government in 2006, arguing in court that the Agriculture Department could not deem worthless a test that it used in its own surveillance program. The court agreed, but the department appealed. A decision is expected soon.
It is hard to understand why the Agriculture Department wants to stand in the way. Yes, the test has limitations: it can miss a case of mad cow disease, also called bovine spongiform encephalopathy, in the very early stages of incubation. But it can catch the disease in later stages, before animals show symptoms. Between 2001 and 2006, the European Union used the test to turn up 1,117 cases of mad cow disease in seemingly healthy cattle approved for slaughter.
Ideally, the Agriculture Department would follow the rules set up in Europe and Japan that require every cow over a certain age to be tested before being slaughtered. At the very least the department should not prevent private companies from testing.
Companies that use the rapid test should also be allowed to label their meat as having been "tested for mad cow" for American consumers who would like this extra level of protection. A Consumers Union national survey done in January 2004 found that 71 percent of adults who eat beef would pay more to support testing, and of those, 95 percent were willing to spend 10 cents more per pound for tested meat.
In the Creekstone case, the Agriculture Department argued that the tests should be prohibited because if one company started using them, consumer demand would drive all companies to use them, and that would add to the price of beef. But would that be such a bad thing? Isn't this how the laws of supply and demand are supposed to work?
Most Americans, like Koreans, understand that testing for mad cow could save lives - and they'd like to have that option.
Comments flounder Today, 10:57 AM
From: "Terry S. Singeltary Sr." To: Sent: Tuesday, June 17, 2008 3:20 PM Subject: [BSE-L] Beef Import!s to Korea: An Open Letter to President Bush Korean middle school student Chae-song Kim asks that the trade agreement be reconsidered
Beef Import!s 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 import!ed 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...SEE FULL TEXT ;
http://blog.daum.net/kenrocks/5396197
Friday, June 20, 2008
USDA TO KOREA AND THE WORLD, EAT THAT AND LIKE IT
http://usdavskorea.blogspot.com/2008/06/usda-to-korea-and-world-eat-that-and.html
Friday, August 8, 2008
Texas Firm Recalls Cattle Heads That Contain Prohibited Materials SRMs 941,271 pounds with tonsils not completely removed
http://madcowfeed.blogspot.com/2008/08/texas-firm-recalls-cattle-heads-that.html
The statistical incidence of CJD cases in the United States has been _revised_ to reflect that there is
one case per 9000 in adults age 55 and older.
Eighty-five percent of the cases are sporadic, meaning there is no known cause at present.
http://www.cjdfoundation.org/fact.html
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
10 people killed by new CJD-like disease USA
http://cjdmadcowbaseoct2007.blogspot.com/2008/06/novel-human-disease-with-abnormal-prion.html
TSS
Friday, August 8, 2008
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