© BPI
Even though production of so-called pink slime has been halted by Beef Products Inc, following the very righteous indignation of much of the social media universe a few months back, ABC News is being sued for an astonishing $1.2 billion by BPI, for allegedly tainting the good image of the beef byproduct concoction. (h/t Grist)
All of this is despite the fact that it wasn't ABC that coined the term—that honor goes to a Food Safety Inspection Service biologist back in 2002—and thateverybody (other than BPI) was calling it pink slime.
Equally amazing in all this is that the suit is brought in a South Dakota court under a cockamamie law that, in the words of the Wall Street Journal, "gives agricultural companies the ability to sue when their products are criticized." Apparently in South Dakota Big Ag has libel and slander protection in excess of the common person.
It's perhaps passé at this point, since it's not actually being made anymore, but I propose going back to calling it what the food safety inspector originally called it, soylent pink.
As for whether the case has a leg to stand on, Huffington Post points out that BPI must "prove that the network knowingly published false information and intended to harm its business."
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