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Among travelers, it is widely known that the beautiful island of Taiwan has some of the best cuisines in the world. So, it is not surprising to find that the Taiwanese are serious when it comes to food and animals! A recent Taiwanese government decision to allow the import of U.S. pork containing ractopamine (an additive banned for pig use in Taiwan and the European Union, is a health risk for animals and human) incited fists and pig intestines flying in Taiwan parliament. In the video “Pig guts fly in Taiwan parliament protest over easing of restrictions on US pork imports“, below: To better understand what ractopamine is, please refer to the excerpt from wikipedia, in italics, below: Ractopamine  is an animal feed additive used to promote leanness and increase food conversion efficiency in livestock in some countries, but banned in others. Pharmacologically, it is a phenol-based TAAR1 agonist and β adrenoreceptor agonist that stimulates β₁ and β₂ adrenergic receptors.^[1][2] It is most commonly administered to animals for meat production as ractopamine hydrochloride.^[3] It is the active ingredient in products marketed in the US as Paylean for swine, Optaflexx for cattle, and Topmax^[4] for turkeys.^[5] It was developed by Elanco Animal Health, a division of Eli Lilly and Company. As of 2014 the use of ractopamine was banned in 160 countries,^[6] including the European Union, mainland China and Russia,^[7][8] while 27 other countries, such as Japan, the United States, South Korea, and New Zealand have deemed meat from livestock fed ractopamine safe for human consumption.^[9][10][11] Commercial ractopamine is a mixture of all four possible stereoisomers.^[12] It is also a positional isomer of dobutamine, a related drug. On Friday, Nov 27, scuffles broke out in Taiwan’s parliament over the import of US pork. It was a messy affair as lawmakers from the opposition threw pig guts in protests. Premier Su Tseng-chang was trying to get to the podium at a parliamentary session, but he was blocked by a Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker who was about to pour a bucket full of pig intestines over him. Scores of lawmakers from the ruling DPP came to the premier’s rescue and formed a protective barrier around him, in the video “Taiwanese lawmakers throw pig guts in parliament over US meat imports“, below: Legislators from Taiwan’s main opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party threw pig guts and exchanged punches with other lawmakers in parliament, in a bitter dispute over easing U.S. pork imports, in the video “Fists and pig guts fly in Taiwan parliament“, below: Tens of thousands of protestors march in downtown Taipei on Sunday, November 22, 2020, in an anti-government demonstration targeting a range of measures. Protesters are angry over labor issues, media freedom and a recent controversial decision to allow the import of American pork containing ractopamine, a feed additive used by American farmers to promote leaner meat in livestock, in the video “Protest in Taiwan over US pork imports, AFP“, below: In the video “Thousands March in Taiwan Against U.S. Pork Imports“, below: After the government announced that Taiwan will allow imported US pork containing traces of ractopamine, many voiced their concerns about consuming food with the feed additive. Today, we explain what the drug is, and which countries allow it, in the video “The Ractopamine Controversy, Taiwan Explained, Sept. 3, 2020, Taiwan Insider on RTI“, below: In a major easing of import restrictions, Taiwan has lifted its ban on U.S. pork containing traces of ractopamine, a feed additive that enhances leanness in meat. Taiwan is also lifting its ban on U.S. beef from cattle older than 30 months. The moves are aimed at removing long-standing roadblocks to free-trade talks with Washington. It’s the president, vice president, and premier, along with the National Security Bureau head and DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming, all filing in for a major press briefing. The president said Taiwan is preparing to ease market restrictions of U.S. pork and beef, in the video “Taiwan lifts ractopamine ban on US pork, drops age restriction on beef“, below: Developed by Elanco, the world’s second largest manufacturer of animal drugs, ractopamine mimics the effects of stress hormones and allows companies to produce more meat more quickly with less feed-great for their pocketbooks, not so great for animals or human. The question American consumers need to ask is: “Why are we allowing ourselves to eat something that is deemed unsuitable for human consumption and is banned in 160 countries? Should our legislators be looking into whether or not Ractopamine should be allowed in our meat products? At the very least, there should be labels indicating which meat products have ractopamine and which do not. Or should one simply assume that all non-organic pork are laced with Ractopamine?“ Karmically, it is terrible to eat animals that’s been intentionally placed under stress throughout their life time for the sake of small percentage of  increased profit level. There needs to be a distinction between meat products with and without Ractopamine. I am sure that there are consumers who are willing to pay a bit more for meat products without Ractopamine. To find out more about Ractopamine, please click HERE & HERE. Gathered, written, and posted by Windermere Sun-Susan Sun Nunamaker More about the community at www.WindermereSun.com Any comments, suggestions, concerns regarding this post will be welcomed at info.WindermereSun@gmail.com

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