[KS] candlelight demonstrations in Korea and the beef deal issue

[Richardson]

Hi Alice,

There are other sources cited besides the Post and Yonhap, and several 
websites linked to in the text of the article but not included as a 
reference at the end of the article, including some that are 
left-leaning. Perhaps those are what Scott referred to.

Also, 30 month-old cattle is indeed consumed in the U.S. Stats for that 
beef going to Korea also interesting. (via BBC on 05 June 2008 
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7436914.stm>):

    But according to statistics from the US beef industry, 18% of cattle
    slaughtered in the US for human consumption is above, *in many cases
    well above, 30 months of age*.

    *The meat from these animals, considered perfectly safe*, is ground
    into beef for burgers and other such delights.

    Americans, it seems, do not just eat 30-month-old cows, they eat
    them in vast quantities.

    And according to Joe Schuele from the US National Cattlemen's Beef
    Association, "research shows that before exports were stopped in
    2003, *less than 2% of the total beef we sent to South Korea came
    from cattle aged over 30 months"*.

    It is hardly a flood.

v/r,

Richardson




Alice S. Kim wrote:
> Dear Scott Burgeson,
>
> 1. I hardly think the Yonhap news agency and the Washington Post, 
> referenced in the article's endnotes, are 'left-leaning' sources. And 
> even Oh my news is debatable.  
>
>  2. Regarding  your first point of contention (1.), which appears to 
> have become a common rejoinder amongst conservative ranks in SK, 
>  could you please provide a reliable and up-to-date source for your 
> statement regarding beef over 30 months old being "widely used esp. 
> for hamburger meat in the US"?  
>
> I myself can't find such a source.  What I have found from a quick 
> look at the USDA website is the following:
>
> In a speech titled "Beef: Building Markets, Ensuring Health" from 
> November 2006 by the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, on page 3 
> (under subheading BSE), it states that Canadian beef imports under 30 
> months are permitted while importing beef older than 30 months are 
> still under consideration. 
> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/newsroom/speeches/content/2006/11/document/SD-CattleFinal11-30.pdf
>
> This August 2005 class II recall of beef from a wisconsin firm  states: 
> "Green Bay Dressed Beef, a Green Bay, Wis., establishment, is 
> voluntarily recalling approximately 1,856 pounds of beef products that 
> may contain portions of the backbone from a cow just over 30 months 
> old, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection 
> Service announced today. The product was from a cow imported directly 
> for slaughter from Canada. 
>
> Based on information provided by Canada, the products subject to this 
> Class II recall are from a cow that is approximately one month older 
> than the 30-month age limit. Both ante-mortem and post-mortem 
> inspection were done on the cow in question. FSIS inspection program 
> personnel determined the cow to be healthy and fit for human food. 
> FSIS' designation of this recall as Class II is because it is a 
> situation where there is a remote probability of adverse health 
> consequences from the use of the product. 
> http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_032_2005_Release/index.asp 
> <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_032_2005_Release/index.asp>
>
> And based on the list of results on this search page for 'beef aged 30 
> months' - it appears rather to be the norm that most countries' beef 
> import agreements with the U.S (as well as U.S.'s beef import 
> agreements with Canada) are limited to beef under 30 months.  These 
> documents are not the most up to date nor comprehensive on the topic 
> but they nonetheless appear to lean in the opposite direction of your 
> claim.  
> http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_032_2005_Release/index.asp 
> <http://www.fsis.usda.gov/News_&_Events/Recall_032_2005_Release/index.asp>
>
>
> Alice S. Kim
>
>
>
> On Jun 9, 2008, at 5:45 PM, J.Scott Burgeson wrote:
>
>> 1. `While cows 30 months of age and older at the time of slaughter 
>> are in general not allowed to be sold for food consumption in the US 
>> and elsewhere, the agreement between the US and South Korean 
>> government included the import of beef from cattle over 30 months old.`
>>
>> Q:　Can you provide a reliable and up-to-date source for the first 
>> part of this statement? I have read elsewhere that beef over 30 
>> months old is widely used esp. for hamburger meat in the US.
>>
>> 2. `A video of a cow in the US that was unable to walk but was passed 
>> as acceptable to be slaughtered and its beef included in the human 
>> food supply was distributed on the Internet by netizens.`
>>
>> Vague attribution. What was the source of this video? MBC`s PD 
>> Such`op? And did that cow actually have BSE (I have heard otherwise)? 
>> Please provide a clear reference if possible.
>>
>>                         *  *  *  *  *
>>
>> Your article implies that there is insufficient democracy in South 
>> Korea but does not really explain why so few people chose to 
>> participate in the Presidential election of Dec. 2007 and thereby 
>> register their democratic will at the institutional level. Political 
>> apathy is distinct from lack of democracy. One might also note that 
>> the GNP won a majority of seats in Parliament in April, yet your 
>> article does not account for this phenomenon either (beyond perhaps 
>> objecting to it on ideological grounds). Up until recently the Korean 
>> electorate was seemingly conservative, which again is distinct from 
>> lack of democracy.
>>
>> ChoJoongDong have their biases but many of the left-leaning sources 
>> you site approvingly in your article have their biases as well, which 
>> renders the persuasiveness of your analysis somewhat less than it 
>> might otherwise be.
>>
>> --Scott Bug
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
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