Editing Food libel laws (section)

=== ''Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey'' ===
In 1998, television talk-show host [[Oprah Winfrey]] and one of her guests, [[Howard Lyman]], were involved in a lawsuit, commonly referred to as the Amarillo, Texas beef trial, surrounding the Texas version of a food libel law known as the ''False Disparagement of Perishable Food Products Act of 1995''. The words "Cows are herbivores. They shouldn't be eating other cows ... It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger."<ref>Texas Beef Group v. Winfrey, 201 F.3d 680, 688. {{cite news
   |title=Veggie Libel Laws: Attempts At Silencing Animal Rights Advocates
   |work=Civil Liberties Defense Center |url=https://cldc.org/aeta-veggie-libel |date=2012-01-09}}</ref> were attributed to Winfrey as part of a 1996 episode of her show. It was accused that the two made disparaging comments about beef in relation to [[mad cow disease]]. Although they were not the first people to be sued using this type of legal action, this case created a media sensation.

In a normal U.S. libel suit, the plaintiff must prove that the defendant is deliberately and knowingly spreading false information. Under the [[Texas]] food disparagement law under which Winfrey and Lyman were sued, the plaintiffs—in this case, beef [[feedlot]] operator Paul Engler and the company Cactus Feeders—had to convince the jury that Lyman's statements on Winfrey's show were not "based on reasonable and reliable scientific inquiry, facts, or data."<ref>V.T.C.A., Civil Practice & Remedies Code § 96.003, accessible at http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/CP/pdf/CP.96.pdf</ref>  As a basis for the damages sought in the lawsuit, the plaintiffs noted that cattle futures dropped 10 percent the day after the episode, and that beef prices fell from 62 cents to 55 cents per pound.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mS38Lo5VVjMC&pg=PA377|title=Business: its legal, ethical, and global environment|author=Jennings, Marianne M.|year=2005|page=377|access-date=2009-12-28 | isbn=978-0-324-20488-9 | publisher=Cengage Learning}}</ref> Engler's attorneys argued that the rancher lost $6.7 million, and the plaintiffs sought to recoup total losses of more than $12 million.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9801/20/oprah.update/|publisher=CNN|title=Court shares light moment during Oprah jury selection|date=1998-01-20|access-date=2009-12-27}}</ref>

The jury in the case found that the statements by Winfrey and Lyman did not constitute libel against the cattlemen.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://medialibel.org/cases-conflicts/tv/oprah.html|publisher=MediaLibel.org|title=Texas Cattlemen v. Oprah Winfrey|access-date=2009-12-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100611094949/http://medialibel.org/cases-conflicts/tv/oprah.html|archive-date=2010-06-11|url-status=dead}}</ref> However, Winfrey no longer speaks publicly on the issue, and declines to make videotapes of the original interview available to inquiring journalists.<ref>{{cite book | author = Sheldon Rampton, John Stauber | title = Mad Cow USA: Could the nightmare happen here? | location = [[Madison, WI]] | publisher = Common Courage Press | year = 1997 | isbn = 1-56751-111-2 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/madcowusacouldni00ramp/page/192 192] | url = https://archive.org/details/madcowusacouldni00ramp/page/192 }}</ref>