"Bush Legs": meat quality and economic aspect

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In our time, chicken legs are an ordinary and familiar product that many people in the country do not pay too much attention to. Moreover, people are so accustomed to their constant availability on sale that they even forgot their first name among the people - “Bush's legs”. And this despite the fact that a few years ago this product played an important role in building relations between the United States of America and the Russian Federation.

Salvation from hunger

At the beginning of 1990, the food situation in the disintegrating Soviet Union was critical. Food became less and less, and people's queues, on the contrary, increased at a crazy speed. However, at the same time, friendship with the United States grew stronger every day. And at a certain moment, the then head of the USSR, Mikhail Gorbachev, signed, in a sense, a historic agreement with his American colleague George W. Bush, which stated that the United States would supply frozen chicken legs to the Union, which ended up painfully familiar to us. the name "Bush legs".

Economic component

Such a decision in the current situation was beneficial, of course, to bothparties. The USSR was getting rid of the food crisis, and the United States found a huge market for its not always good food products. “Bush legs” began to be delivered to the Union also because the vast majority of Americans gave their preference exclusively to white chicken meat, which is why chicken legs sold very poorly on the US domestic market, as a result, there was an oversupply of them. Therefore, Bush Sr. decided that the sale of this product in the USSR would be economically feasible and fully justified from an economic point of view.

Lifesaver

As time has shown, "Bush's legs" in Russia turned out to be a real salvation for ordinary citizens of the country during the period of huge deficit that took place during the period of the planned economy. And even when Boris Yeltsin came to power with his determined idea of a free market, thanks to which the prices of all goods increased significantly, American-made chicken legs were still both widely available and relatively stable in value. This provided a good opportunity to feed people with low material incomes, because even one “Bush leg” made it possible to cook a hot dish (soup or borscht) for the entire average family.

Manipulation tool

In 2005, a special trade agreement was signed between the Russian and American governments, according to which, until 2009, 74% of the quotas of all imported chicken meat into Russia should belong exclusively toUnited States. At the same time, it was indicated that each year the indicator of deliveries had to increase by 40,000 tons. In addition, American chicken legs were sold in the Russian Federation at dumping prices, which literally killed local poultry producers who were unable to withstand Western competitors. Of course, thanks to this, the US economy, even on the outskirts of Alaska, stood on "Bush's legs" - the income of Americans from chicken meat sold overseas was so gigantic.

This contract made both parties hostage. "Bush's legs", photos of which are given below, have become a real lever of political blackmail for both Russia and the United States. The thing is that it was already extremely difficult for the Russian Federation to refuse this product because of its simply crazy popularity among the people. At the same time, the Americans were also not interested in losing such a gigantic market as Russia, because 40% of exports of chicken legs at that time accounted for it.

Ultimatum

In 2006, Russia delivered an ultimatum to the United States, which stated that the trade preference for the import of agricultural products (including Bush legs) would be canceled if the protocol for Russia's accession was not fully agreed and approved within three months. Federation to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Insight

Over time, when the long-term euphoria from the availability of cheap chicken products has passed, serious questions began to arise. Ordinary citizens of the country began to worry very much, but is it possible at allto eat the “Bush legs” that he already loved so much, the calorie content of which was quite high (158 kcal per 100 grams of product). Repeatedly conducted expert checks stated that in these chicken legs the concentrations of various hormones and antibiotics administered to the bird in the process of its active growth are simply prohibitive. As a result, lovers of such legs began to undergo a significant decrease in the body's immunity and the occurrence of various dangerous allergic reactions. In addition, there was information that American chicken contains large doses of female hormones, which are extremely detrimental to the male body.

It also became known to the public that American poultry producers actively use chlorine in their factories. At the same time, the US authorities allowed the concentration of this chemical element in the ratio of 20-50 parts per million. According to the owners of poultry farms, such slightly chlorinated solutions are not capable of posing a danger and a threat to human he alth. At the same time, even such meager information turned out to be quite enough for sanitary doctors to sound the alarm, and potential and existing consumers to think about the rationality of purchasing such chicken legs.

However, this information in no way stopped many, and people still continued to acquire American legs that had already become almost native. And even if a person wanted to buy chicken legs not produced in the territory of the United States of America, then brisk traders in the markets very often still literally “crammed” themunder the guise of a product made, for example, in Brazil.

International scandal

In 2002, "Bush's legs" were completely banned for a period of one month. The reason for this was the situation when salmonella pathogen bacteria, dangerous to human life, were found in chicken legs imported from the United States of America. This scandal significantly damaged the reputation of American suppliers and caused them to distrust the Russians.

Taboo

American goods have repeatedly become the subject of ridicule of many comedians, and the famous satirist Mikhail Zadornov "walked" on them. Bush's Feet, however, has been banned since January 1, 2010. This was due to the fact that an order signed by the chief sanitary doctor of Russia came into effect, which stated that it was inadmissible to sell to the population chicken products that are produced using chlorine compounds.

Import substitution

In August 2014, the Russian Federation introduced a complete trade embargo on all meat products and products from the United States. After that, the “Bush legs”, the recipe for which, over the long years of their supply, became known in many Russian families, completely ceased to be delivered to Russia. And already in May 2015, Dmitry Medvedev, who is the prime minister of the country, even stated that the Russian Federation could well fill its domestic market with chicken meat on its own. Therefore, today's chicken legs lying on the shelves in stores and supermarkets are no longerhave absolutely nothing to do with the United States, much less with former President Bush.