Simmering beef row heats up SKorea's vegetarian trade

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2008

SEOUL (AFP) — Food safety fears sparked by South Korea's resumption of US beef imports are a headache for the government but good news for vegetarian restaurants.

Restaurants and markets specialising in green and organic food Thursday reported increasing numbers of customers amid two months of protests over the imports.

Opponents say US beef carries a risk of the human form of mad cow disease while the Washington and Seoul governments insist the meat is safe.

"The number of customers has almost doubled as fears over mad cow perils have gripped the nation," Kim So-Yeon, a manager of SM Vegetarian Buffet in Seoul's southern district of Poidong, told AFP.

Apart from its restaurant business, take-away customers are snapping up an assortment of vegetarian...