Nearly half of the respondents to a farm ministry survey said they have changed their diets since the first case of mad cow disease was found in Japan in September 2001.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Thursday that 43 percent of 1,557 respondents to an Internet poll conducted in February and March have either cut beef out of their diets or reduced how much they eat. Seven percent said they ate beef occasionally, and 36 percent cut back on consumption.
The survey showed 53 percent of the respondents had not changed their eating habits.
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