Since the bruised apple industry lost the Alar case, agricultural-disparagement laws have passed in Alabama, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Dakota, as well as Texas. The laws were pushed by the American Feed Industry Association, which provided model bills through farm bureaus to state legislatures. The laws are intended to prevent uninformed challenges to the wholesomeness of food products and allow producers to sue those who falsely disparage the products. Kopperud said agricultural products, particularly meat, are harmed by animal activists who want to further their agendas. While Kopperud argues that the laws protect America's agriculture, the NRDC says the statutes are meant to blunt criticism.
Biblical laws say some food is tainted.
Until the recent case by Texas cattlemen against Ms. Winfrey, the state agriculture-disparagement laws have not been tested in court. This is the ticket for one side to go the Supreme Court. Mad-cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, has not been reported in the United States. In the second case filed in Amarillo under the 14-line veggie libel law, a group of emu breeders claim that American Honda Motor Co. disparaged, slandered and defamed the bird industry during a commercial. The commercial depicts a man taking his Honda from one unusual job interview to another.