Why is the Korean public got angry with the American cows?

Nowadays, I can watch a demonstration parade on TV day and night. Surprisingly, most of the demonstrators are just common people. The scale of the demonstration is incredibly huge! They’re shouting as one voice with candles. The reason for these demonstrations is that the Korean government made a decision to import beef from the United States. Public said that American beef is very dangerous and can cause BSE. On the other hand, government said that American beef is a safe and cheap food to eat. Generally speaking, BSE is the abbreviation for bovine spongiform encephalopathy and often called mad cow disease. It may give rise to serious trouble because it is a new type of disease. If a person eats beef which is infected with BSE, the person is infected with CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease) which is 100% of lethal. CJD is a scary disease that can’t be cured. BSE is caused when a cow eats animal’s central nerve system. Eating animal feed made from other animals causes a change in the cow’s protein structure. The changed protein structure kills the cows by forming holes in their brains. Some farmers who work for American domestic animal industry in the U.S. have fed cows with dangeous feed. Now, the American government prohibits such feed, so olders cows more than 30 months old, are more likely to be infected. That’s why people generalize that American cows are dangerous to eat. In fact, many people died for CJD a few years ago in England and people were in mortal fear of suffering or dying from CJD. By contrast, only few people were infected with the disease in the U.S. That’s why it is wrong to say that American cows are dangerous to eat. However, with Korean traditional dishes, we usually eat all of parts of cow including the nervous system and internal organs. Therefore, scientists say that Koreans may have more chance to be sick, so it is a very serious issue for Koreans. Nevertheless, the Korean government decided to import older cows without enough communication with the public. Efficient import and export should be encouraged but it should be considered seriously if it is related to the public’s health. Since they didn’t have much time to communicate with the public, there were many rumors about BSE or CJD. For example, many people believe that BSE could carry infection from the cow to people even though they don’t eat a beef and many scientists and give us some theories without enough verification. Also, internet users circulate many false reports. It may instigate many young students to participate in the illegal demonstration. Moreover, many people could live in fear.

 

 

I think that people are not angry only with the importation of beef from America but also angry because they were ignored by the government. If the government gave public to take time to catch on for the importation, the demonstrations would not happen like this have used force. Therefore, people have no choice but to demonstrate excessively to show their anger. All of Korea wait for the choice that the government will make. It will take much time. Also, if we cancel the contract, it could be dishonor of this country. I hope that everything will be go peaceably and the Korean government will make the right decision.