First Shipment of U.S. Cows Reaches Japan

[kurohinge1]

[Big Booger]

[IkemenTommy]

Yoshinoya here I come

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

The Age: Australian beef faces tougher times
THE return of US and Canadian products is challenging Australia's recent monopoly of the Japanese beef market. But the Australian beef industry had a campaign prepared in expectation...In November, an "Aussie beef and lamb healthy ageing" seminar at Joshi Eiyo Daigaku (Women's Nutrition University) promoted the importance of red meat for an ageing society...And the next day, a talk show featured popular chef Harumi Kurihara, who showcased her Australian beef and lamb recipes...more...

[Greji]

The Age: Australian beef faces tougher times
THE return of US and Canadian products is challenging Australia's recent monopoly of the Japanese beef market. But the Australian beef industry had a campaign prepared in expectation...In November, an "Aussie beef and lamb healthy ageing" seminar at Joshi Eiyo Daigaku (Women's Nutrition University) promoted the importance of red meat for an ageing society...And the next day, a talk show featured popular chef Harumi Kurihara, who showcased her Australian beef and lamb recipes...more...

I've noticed a new CM by a wagyu agriculture group pitching their meat that has just begun appearing on TV making special emphasis to the fact that their niku is "anzen"!

[Mulboyne]

Mainichi: Only one Japanese food company plans to use U.S. beef after ban: report

...Of the 21 companies that replied, only beef bowl chain Yoshinoya D&C Co. said it would use U.S. beef, the report said. Seven companies -- including McDonald's Holdings Co. and Zensho Co., which also sells beef bowl dishes -- said they had no plans to use U.S. beef, while seven others indicated they won't use U.S. beef "for the time being," Kyodo News reported. Other respondents said they would decide after viewing "consumer trends and the quality and price of the beef"...more...

[Taro Toporific]

First Shipment of U.S. Cows Reaches Japan

I was at Costco Makuhari today and ALL the American beef was sold out the first day it placed on sale (Monday?). There were a bunch of signs posted on the entrances saying something in Japanese to the effect of, "No more Mad Cow available."

Plenty of Aussie and NZ Beef was available as well as the totally ignored Japanese beef.


(I discovered that the Costco Makuhari store does carried the full inventory and it is the most underwhelming of the three Costco stores in Kanto. The Yokohama Bay Costco and the Machida Costco are better.)

[Mulboyne]

Xinhua: U.S., Japan genetically engineer calves immune to BSE

Scientists from the U.S. and Japan reported they have genetically engineered a dozen calves that are immune to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or mad cow disease), according to the Nature Biotechnology Sunday. They said they had "knocked out" the gene responsible for making the proteins, called prions, the normal protein components of the brain, immune system and other tissues which cause disease when they "go bad." The disease didn't take hold when brain tissue from two of the genetically engineered cows was exposed to bad prions in the laboratory, they said...more....

[kurohinge1]

Xinhua: U.S., Japan genetically engineer calves immune to BSE . . .

Does this mean that they can go back to cow meat and bone meal as a protein supplement in cattle feed?

I'm not sure if I should be celebrating.

[Mulboyne]

[Mulboyne]

HPJ: Japan restaurants want more U.S. beef

Japanese restaurants are set to urge the government to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports, saying the stringent rules are causing a serious supply crunch, officials said Dec. 19. Though Tokyo eased a 2 1/2 year blanket ban on U.S. beef in July, lingering trade restrictions over fears of bovine spongiform encephalopathy has meant only a trickle of U.S. beef has made it back into the country. The Japan Food Service Association and three other restaurant groups say supply of the U.S. meat has lagged critically behind demand and driven prices higher. They plan to submit a petition to the country's health and farm ministries as early as Dec. 22 demanding Japan ease import restrictions, according to JFSA official Kunio Chiba.

"Wherever U.S. beef is served, it has been very popular. But restaurants are struggling to secure a constant supply," Chiba said Dec. 19. "Tender U.S. beef has long been loved by Japanese. The current import restrictions are hurting beef restaurants all over Japan," Chiba said. Yoshinoya D&C Co., a major Japanese fast-food chain, recently returned a popular rice dish topped with U.S. beef that was off the menu for more than two years. But its restaurants only serve that dish four hours a day because of still-limited supply...more...