Meat Industry Suing ABC Over Pink Slime Comments

Beef Products Inc., the world’s biggest processor of mechanically separated meat (otherwise known as “pink slime”), is suing television network ABC for $1.2 billion dollars over comments made by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver in an episode of Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. The episode, which featured Oliver simulating the pink slime production process, triggered negative media coverage surrounding the meat product and a consumer boycott, leading the US Department of Agriculture to allow schools to opt out of serving the product to students. Beef Products Inc. is accusing ABC of having malicious intentions to destroy its business and decimate its product, claiming sales dropped by 80 percent. The company also asserts the term “pink slime” has negative connotations, and prefers the term “finely textured lean beef” as a product label.