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Controversy over American beef imports is refusing to go away even after Korea reached agreement with the U.S. that Seoul can immediately suspend imports if mad cow disease is confirmed in American cattle. The controversy has now shifted to rumors that Koreans will end up consuming beef from cattle 30 months or older, which Americans don’t eat. The governments of both countries have been saying that this is not true and that Koreans will consume the same beef as Americans do. But tactless attempts at explaining this to the public have kept the controversy going. The truth of the matter can be learned simply by investigating it. But the ineptitude and lack of effective measures by the government have caused the issue to go this far.
The government says out of 300 million Americans, none has caught vCJD (the human form of BSE or mad cow disease). But critics of U.S. beef imports say that’s because Americans consume beef only from cattle less than 30 months old. Even the floor leader of one opposition party, who held a press conference for foreign journalists a few days ago, thought Korea will import beef that is different from those eaten by Americans. Both sides are going around in circles contradicting each on an issue that can be resolved quite easily.
Until now, BSE has been detected almost exclusively in cattle older than 30 months. The resumption of U.S. beef imports includes older cattle, so such fears are understandable. The protein that is believed to cause mad cow disease is found in only a few, specific parts of a cow. That’s why, if they are removed, beef from cattle older than 30 months is said to be safe for consumption. Around the world, 96 countries import U.S. beef based not on the age of cattle but on whether these specified risk materials have been removed. But that explanation is simply not getting through to the Korean public right now.
The U.S. government explains that beef from cattle 30 months or older is lower in quality and therefore turned into hamburger meat or sausages. Considering the amount of hamburgers and sausages Americans consume, one can estimate what vast amounts of beef from cattle older than 30 months is consumed in the United States. All it takes is a trip to the U.S. to verify this fact. Such a fact-finding trip could also confirm once and for all whether Americans consume soup made from cattle bones.
The government has already lost its credibility, so the public will only trust a fact-finding team that includes members of the opposition. It would be even better if one of the civic groups involved in the candlelight vigils also takes part. If the opposition or civic groups do not wish to take part, the only reason can be their fear of revealing the truth.
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