'We talk about mad cow, but still eat burgers'

'We talk about mad cow, but still eat burgers'

All the fuss about the single case of mad cow disease in the
United States apparently has not affected the business of
American fast food chains in Jakarta. Most of them claim they
have stopped importing beef from the U.S. The Jakarta Post talked
to some people on whether the issue had stopped them from eating
at fast food restaurants.

Feisal, 27, is a pilot with Bouraq Airlines and Jakarta
socialite. He usually spends his spare time with his friends in
cafes. He lives with his family in Cibubur, South Jakarta:

I've never been keen on eating junk food even before the fuss
over mad cow disease broke out, because my lymph glands sometimes
gets swollen if I eat junk food.

But I am not obsessed about it. I try to avoid fast food
places as much as I can, but if I have to, I will still eat at
them anyway.

My mother and brothers have always preferred Australian meat
to American. After this incident, they are even more convinced
that Australian meat is better.

My friends? They don't care about mad cow. They talk about it,
but they eat junk food anyway.

Endang Soeryatno, 46, head of public relations division of St.
Carolus Hospital, Central Jakarta. She lives with her husband and
two children in Pasar Minggu, South Jakarta:

Although we are a little bit worried, it has not stopped us
from eating imported meat. However, since the government has
imposed precautionary measures against meat shipped from the
U.S., I now opt to buy meat imported from neighboring Australia.

My family is a big fan of imported meat, because it has a
better quality ... and tastes different from local meat. As for
the suspicion that the American fast food restaurants use
possibly infected meat on their menus, I don't have to worry
about it a lot. My children are not fond of dining in such
places.

--The Jakarta Post