This post covers Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), Korean beef import regulations, healthy eating tips, and the philosophy of food moderation.

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Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) is a fatal neurological disease in which the brain tissue of cattle deforms like a sponge. If humans consume infected beef, it can cause a fatal disease called variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

Causes and Development of BSE

Cows are herbivores that graze on grass, but they often eat concentrated feed centered on grains for rapid growth. A more serious problem is that some feed contains beef byproducts.

This is an act of feeding the protein of the same species to cows, which are herbivores, and is pointed out as a major cause of BSE.

Since BSE can cause serious harm to the human body, each country is implementing strong quarantine measures such as restricting the import of beef from countries with a risk of BSE outbreak, prioritizing the protection of national health.

Korea’s Restrictions on Importing US Beef

Korea banned imports of US beef after the outbreak of mad cow disease in the US in 2003, but eased the restrictions in 2008 through the Korea-US beef negotiations, allowing only beef from cattle under 30 months of age.

This was a measure taken in response to research showing that cattle over 30 months old are more likely to develop mad cow disease.

Korea is currently the largest importer of US beef, with Japan coming in second.

The US, with its vast pastures, provides an environment conducive to raising cattle by grazing. (About 200 square meters of pasture is required per cow.)

However, Korea, with its small land area, cannot avoid intensive farming.

Beef consumption patterns and health considerations

In the West, beef is mainly consumed in the form of steaks, but in Korea, various cooking methods such as grilling, steaming, and soup are used.

In particular, marbled tulip beef was popular, but recently, the preference for marbling has been decreasing due to health concerns about foods with high fat content.

In fact, white fat, the main component of marbling, can oxidize when directly exposed to charcoal fire, etc., and produce benzopyrene, which is harmful to the human body.
In addition, the meat juice that flows out when grilling beef is also melted fat, which may be pleasing to the mouth, but is not good for your health.
As the saying goes, “Bitter taste is good for the body,” food intake has an important purpose beyond simple gustatory satisfaction, which is to maintain health.
You can maintain a healthy life only when you excrete more (output) than you consume (input).

Food moderation from a philosophical perspective

Ancient philosophy also emphasized the importance of food moderation. In the Book of Changes (周易), the hexagram Shanlui (山雷頤) says, “Be careful with your words and moderate with your food (愼言語 節飮食)”, which means to be careful with your speech and moderate with your food.
This is not only for simple health management, but also an important factor in maintaining a balanced life. Perhaps the reason why many people are on the gossip circuit and the diet market is constantly growing is because of these difficulties.

Finding a balance is important because a momentary pleasure in the mouth can result in deteriorating health, and the reason why the diet market is active in modern society may also stem from these concerns.
When we eat food, we should consider not only the taste but also the effects on our health.
The beef and mad cow disease issues awaken our awareness of safe food.
A wise eating habit is the first step to a healthy life, and as the Book of Changes teaches, we should lead a healthy life through careful words and actions and moderate eating habits.