Ma beefs-up trade talks with U.S. congress (Chinapost.com.tw) San Francisco -- President Ma Ying-jeou drove home Taiwan's stance on banning imports of certain risky parts of U.S. beef to 12 U.S. congressional members over the phone Tuesday. [News Source]

Wayne Pacelle: Dairy Industry: Got Ethics? (The Huffington Post) Last night, ABC News reported on the results of an investigation by Mercy for Animals (MFA) into inhumane practices within the dairy industry. Chief investigative... [News Source]

Cattle Prices May Rise as Exports Rebound, Doud Says (Update1) (Bloomberg) Jan. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Cattle prices may increase this year as global economies recover and U.S. beef exports rebound, said Gregg Doud , the chief economist for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. [News Source]

Animal tracing gets go-ahead (Stuff) A scheme to trace beef and venison back to the farm it came from has been given the go-ahead by the Government. [News Source]

Ma works the phones during stopover (Taipei Times) The Presidential Office said President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) was able to hold his first public activity in the US during his stopover in San Francisco on Tuesday because of the “sound interaction” between Taipei and Washington over the years. [News Source]

Culture Briefs (The Washington Times) Concerted decision "The man's former girlfriend worries about her own son, and his entire generation: 'I was first aware that he [her son] was looking at pornography when he was 14. But how can boys not see it? Unless they make a concerted decision not to look at it, to delete it from their mobiles when it's sent to them, or from their e-mails. You'd be making a singular, probably a unique ... [News Source]

President Ma drives home beef trade policy to U.S. congressmen (Chinapost.com.tw) San Francisco -- President Ma Ying-jeou drove home Taiwan's stance on banning imports of certain risky parts of U.S. beef to 12 U.S. congressional members over the phone Tuesday. [News Source]

Aussie beef to be sold duty free in EU (The Age) Europe will allow upmarket Australian beef to be sold in its markets duty free by Easter. [News Source]

New disinfectant may make hospital safer (UPI) BERLIN, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A new disinfectant is effective against bacteria, viruses, fungi and prions, and could help reduce deadly infections in hospitals, German researchers say. [News Source]