World Report: February 13, 1998 Vol.3 No.17
- This Issue:
- Table of Contents
- Cover Story
- Cover Story - Spanish Version
- Mini-Lesson
- Comprehension Quiz
- Teacher's Guide and Worksheets
What's the Beef, Oprah?
Attention, haters of Brussels sprouts, spinach and liver: keep quiet! Sure, you can complain about your least-loved foods to friends and family. But in 13 states, bad-mouthing certain foods in newspapers or on TV is illegal if it hurts the foods' sales.
These laws have got talk-show host Oprah Winfrey into hot water. Paul Engler, a Texas cattle rancher, is suing Winfrey over a 1996 episode of her show, all about "dangerous foods." Winfrey and her guests discussed mad-cow disease, a serious illness that killed cattle in Europe and can be deadly to humans.
No cases of mad-cow disease have ever been reported in the U.S., but Winfrey said it scared her anyway. "It has just stopped me from eating another burger!" she announced on her show.
Cattle prices plunged after the show was on. Engler claims that he lost $6 million in beef sales and that Oprah tried to scare people rather than present all the facts.
Oprah says she didn't try to hurt the cattle industry. Last week she told the jury, "I don't go into a show thinking about corporations and people's money."
The trial, which is being held in Amarillo, Texas, is expected to end in a few weeks. Some Texan fans, such as Gabrielle Bernard, 12, hope the jury sides with Oprah. "This is America," says Gabrielle. "You can say what you want."
