AR-News: Health jitters shortening China's menus

[Animalara2003 at aol.com]

No more steaming platters of civet cat?Only a few southern Chinese hanker for 
them anyway.But look closer:Suddenly,China has no American beef and no South 
Korean wild boar.No cloven-hoofed animals from Tajikistan.No poultry from 
Vietnam and Japan.
In a country where people say "Have you eaten today?"when they mean hello and 
are renowned for stomaching just about anything,the world's health problems 
are shortening the menus these days.
Over the past month,on fears of SARS,bird flu,mad cow,foot-and-mouth disease 
and even hog cholera,China has banned those animals and their meats.And with 
bird flu confirmed in Thailand and Cambodia on Friday,more quarantine actions 
could be in store.
While the bans have so far had no major impact on the food supply of China's 
1.3billion people,and restaurant owners who use mostly domestic meat supplies 
insist they aren't worried,the actions are striking nonetheless in their very 
number.
"It is better to ban these products preemptively than to wait for major 
problems,"said Chen Wei,an official with the China Meat Association,the industry's 
government-backed trade group.


full story:

http://english.eastday.com/epublish/gb/paper1/1158/class000100006/hwz178971.ht
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"The world is a dangerous place,
not because of those who do evil,
but because of those who look on and do nothing.",
Albert Einstein

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