Are we too US beef-sensitive?

Single BSE case roils Korea but fazes few Americans

A single case of mad cow disease or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in California last week is sending tremors through society in Korea, scaring consumers away from U.S. beef stands. Civic as well as political parties are up in arms, demanding the government take more drastic action.

Experts as well as ordinary people are pitted against each other about what to do about it. So far, the government has decided to strengthen checks on imports but stopped short of holding them at customs. There are only a few who underestimate effects of the situation gone wild: Four years ago, the current government faced civic disobedience that almost toppled it.

But a look at the other side of the Pacific shows little signs of unease. According to a dispatch from Korea Times correspondent Jane Han, Americans are eating beef with the same fervor as before while taking little notice of the mad cow case. What a difference!

The government has not yet shown any signs of yielding to growing pressure to stop customs clearance on U.S. beef imports coming from both inside and outside the nation.

“The issue of U.S. beef safety is not something President Lee Myung-bak should become involved in at this stage,” a senior Cheong Wa Dae official said during a briefing Sunday. “It is technical and is being dealt with by a relevant ministry.”

Responding to a call for such action by Park Geun-hye, head of the ruling Saenuri Party, the official said that the political circle is more concerned about public opinion.

“The public health issue is everybody’s top concern,” he said. “However, it is really unfortunate that the U.S. beef issue has been so politicized.”

Meanwhile, Thailand has followed Indonesia to put a temporary halt on U.S. beef imports. Thailand’s annual U.S. beef imports amounted to $1.2 million last year, making it the 65th largest in the world. No country from among major importers such as Japan, Mexico, Taiwan and Canada as well as Korea has declared a stop to customs clearance or an import ban.

Last week, a cow in California was found with mad cow disease but the United States argued that it posed no threat to the safety of U.S. beef exports and for domestic consumption. — E.D.