Thousands March in Taiwan Against US Pork Imports

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-Wen’s decision to lift a long-standing ban on certain beef and pork imports from the US has led thousands of people to protest in Taipei. This move, which took effect on January 1st, 2021, was prompted by an attempt to create a bilateral trade agreement between the two. 

However, the new policy has been met with strong opposition and criticism, mainly because it will allow imports of pork with ractopamine, an animal feed additive that promotes the growth of lean meat. This drug is controversial since it can cause significant health issues such as heart problems and poisoning. While it is allowed in the US, it is thus banned in the European Union (EU). 

“I came here today to oppose the import of ractopamine...I feel these days many who do business are not ethical. If they mix the US pork with Taiwan pork and then sell it to us average consumers, we as individuals have no way to know the source of the pork,”  claimed Kelvin Chen, a 54-year-old computer engineer who was at the protest.

“I have a child and when we eat things with ractopamine, it’s not good for our bodies...I hope the government can see that we citizens oppose this,” Jacky Tsui, a 37-year-old factory worker, also stated.

As a result, demand for local pork has shot up while Taiwanese consumers have turned away from imported meat. The move has also seemingly hurt meat imports from other countries since the Taiwanese are increasingly becoming distrusting of all foreign meat. However, it is likely that these results are only temporary, and by the end of the year, Taiwanese consumption of foreign meat might bounce back to normal levels. But the incident goes to show the perils of a government ramming through trade laws that are opposed by its citizens.

According to an executive at PX Mart, one of Taiwan’s major food retailers, “People want fresh local meat, they want pork from suppliers they trust...You don’t want people posting on Facebook about your store selling poisonous American pork, so we are restocking with more Taiwan pork.”

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