Wtf is the Texas cattleman lawsuit ? In 1998 , television talkshow host Oprah Winfrey and one of her guests , Howard Lyman , were involved in a lawsuit , commonly referred to as the Amarillo Texas beef trial , surrounding the Texas version of a food libel law known as the False Disparagement of Perishable Food Products Act of 1995 , for a 1996 episode of her show in which the two made disparaging comments about beef in relation to mad cow disease . Although they were not the first people to be sued using this type of legal action , this case created a media sensation and is the example most people in the United States of America associate with food libel litigation . Huh . TIL <| sep |> Pretty much everything , because i will be moving soon