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ABC News Tries to Get a Judge to Throw Out “Pink Slime” Lawsuit, Saying It’s Against the First Amendment

ABC News Attempts to Have $1.2 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against Them Thrown Out

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

The news network – ABC News who has been under fire over alleged “false and misleading and defamatory” statements that is best known as the “pink slime” case, is now pleading with a federal judge to have the file tossed out saying that it’s a threat to free speech.

The lawsuit was filed last September by Beef Products Inc. The company alleges that ABC News network unfairly characterized its finely textured beef product and referred to it as the newly coined term “pink slime” – which the network referred to on several occasions in a series of news stories.

On Wednesday, the network’s lawyers filed a memorandum in a federal court saying that its reporting of the product was constitutionally protected under the First Amendment.


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What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?


?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.