posted on Jan, 20 2006 @ 08:24 AM
It seems that japan has halted the import of all beef from the United States. This was done after an animal spine was found in the beef. A ban on U.S.
beef that lasted 2 years was recently lifted only to have imports halted again. This incident violates the argeement the two countries had so the ban
would be lifted. Japan use to be the most lucrative importer for american beef, importing 1.7 billion worth in 2003.
external source
"I just heard the news from the agricultural minister just now over the phone, and he said Japan will stop the import totally," Japanese Prime
Minister Junichiro Koizumi told reporters Friday.
Shoichi Nakagawa, the agricultural minister of Japan said, "If that's true (that a spine was found in a beef shipment), we consider that is a grave
violation of import process. We will look into it closely and ask U.S. side to clarify the problem."
The spine violates the agreement between the two countries, meaning the ban could be reinstated. A news conference was scheduled for later Friday.
Japan, which has had its own cases of BSE, tests every cow sold and previously had demanded the United States do the same. U.S. producers, however,
said such steps were not necessary or economical.
www.cnn.com...
apparently it seems that the U.S. really isnt concerned with the potential dangers of Mad Cow Disease. This could cost us some serious money because
we are too lazy to take necessary precautions.
though japan re-instating the ban is something to look down upon i think the real problem here is the fact the U.S. producers feel checkin animals for
mad cow disease is "not necessary or economical". this worries me, because that would mean the beef we are eating isnt as safe as it should be.
im very much more worried of the possible effects of unchecked meat in our own country that allows it rather then the ban of meat in japan because
they caught a violation of the agreement that was only made a month ago. 1 month and weve already violated the ban. i wonder how many times this has
been done here at home...
edit: messed up quotation
[edit on 20-1-2006 by grimreaper797]