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We Don't Want Us Beef

Protests in S Korea over US beef

Protesters and police clash in South Korea amid mounting public anger at the relaxation of a ban on US beef.
Ref. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/a...fic/7420875.stm

Beef Want Dont We

Maybe they do not want to eat beef but stick to their diet of dog and rat. I hope they realize that the US is not sending them bad meat.

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I am sure that no one would intentially send another country a beast with mad cow desease intentionally.

Here is my take if I was a farmer there and knew there had been no outbreaks of mad cow disease why on earth would I let any beast from a country that has had this break out into my stock? Just makes sense to keep them out. North American and European feeding habits I think were part of the issue in these cases reported so if the Koreans have taken better care and precautions then they are fully in their right to ask this of their government.

There full well may be other ramifications in this course of action but they are within their right to ask.

Beef Want Dont We

Having spent a great deal of time in S. Korea and actually married a Korean, I can assure you that the typical diet of a S. Korean is free of dog and rat. The issue is a purely political one and one that the president of S. Korea is not about to back out on (at this point...pressure is there but not as bad as the papers show). President Lee is going to make sure that Korea is open to US Beef, because the US has tied the sale of beef to free trade talks (which are highly desired by S. Korea and provide much more money). However, the S. Korean cattle farmers have made much more money without having to compete with US Beef. So the question really is...is it worth keeping US beef out of S.Korea, if they are going to tax me more on each Samsung TV I ship over? It is pretty simple math.

Rather off topic, but... While the law is bypassed by those that eat dog, it is illegal to farm or process dog meat in S. Korea. Can you find dog meat in Korea? Sure...you probably can find it, if you ask the right person, but you are 100 times more likely to find a bulgogi steak house before you find a dog meat house. It just is not a staple of the S. Korean diet. Now they do eat silk worms as a source of protien and I am told that kids love them...they smell disgusting to me and the visual is pretty gross. As far as rat eating, never heard of it, but I am sure that during the wars there were probably a rat or two eaten. It does happen in N. Korea, but US Beef isnt going there. Several western countries eat horse meat. Even us in the picky US allowed horse meat eating in ceratin situations. With meat being scarce in WWII, some states allowed the processing of horses for food, so I guess we are against it as long as our bellies are full.

Koreans, like many other cultures, have a great deal of pride in all things created by them. They a bit more-so than other cultures I have experienced. So it is not surprising that they believe their beef is superior to US Beef and Australian Beef as well. Also, they really dont like how lean the US Beef is compared to their beef. Asians in general have a tendency to like a bit more fat in their meat than we do in the West. Cuts that we would say are on the cheap side (heavily lined with fat) are premium here. But honestly, it is up to them and we only have ourselves to blame if they do not want US Beef in the country. Feeding cows...cows...to get them fatter quicker is probably not a great idea and was the main reason we ended up with BSE. Notice how we dont see cows running around the range trying to carnivorously eat each other. It is probably because they dont want to eat each other and we shouldnt force the issue.

So it comes down to relaxed trade for beef...

I think President Lee is right in having lifted the ban, but that does not necessarily equal high US Beef sales.

Beef Want Dont We

If they prefer high fat beef then corn fed beef might suit them but cost wise who wins the Korean or USA beast? That is which is the better deal.

We Don't Want Us Beef

S Korea beef protesters detained

S Korean police fire water cannons and arrest 228 people protesting against plans to resume US beef imports.
Ref. https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/a...fic/7429758.stm

We Don't Want Beef

The South Koreans don't make joke, when they say they don't want US beef, they don't want it:

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They really have the new president in a poor situation. One of the main reasons he was elected to office was that the economy of S.Korea was not going very well under the previous president. It appeared that the boom in S.Korea had stopped and they were watching investment dollars go to other countries.

The US is asking for beef sales to allow bilateral free trade, which is VERY advantagious to S.Korea. Free trade on all those Hundai cars, LG/Samsung LCD TV's would bring about some very nice profits to the companies and in turn more profit to the government through taxes. It would also allow for more expansion of existing and newly started markets in Korea as well. This is the much needed shot in the arm that S.Korea has been looking for, but it takes beef to get it done.

Basically, he has to be hoping this blows over because if it doesnt and he is forced to ban US Beef, then he is pretty well doomed in his economic promises (which they will attack him for as well).

In this case...it isnt good to be the king!