Meat+Poultry - December 2017 - 19

it as a victory for the meat processing company
and a defeat for ABC News because its parent
company, Walt Disney Co. agreed to pay the
substantial settlement.
Eldon and Regina Roth, owners of Beef
Products Inc., say the agreement settling the
defamation lawsuit provides the company
with a strong foundation on which to grow the
business in the coming years, while allowing
the company to focus on achieving its vision
created by the Roth family.
In an interview with MEAT+POULTRY,
Eldon Roth talks about the company's plans
moving forward into 2018. "We will remain
focused on rebuilding our core business,
working with our long-term supply and
customer base, and continuing the work to
reestablish ground beef and other markets,"
Roth says. "At the same time, we are moving
forward with new product development, and
will be very focused on growing the Dos Rios
taco meat/cooked meat line of business, as
well as whole-muscle enhancement processes.
It will be an exciting time for us, as we get to
look forward instead of back."
Roth is also hopeful the lawsuit and trial
will have a positive effect on the American
meat industry. "We certainly hope the ABC
lawsuit will result in a more responsible
approach by journalists when dealing
with subject matter like this," Roth says.
"Investigating sources has to be an important
part of the story versus just those fitting an
agenda. This, and other recent successful
defamation actions, may result in journalists
taking the time to fully investigate their stories
and offer the presentation of fair and balanced
reporting," he says. "Time will tell. While we
did not pursue the lawsuit for any reason
other than to right the wrong against BPI,
we do hope others will recognize the value
in standing up for themselves and what they
believe to be right," he says.
Barry Carpenter, president and CEO of
the North American Meat Institute (NAMI),
agrees with Roth. Carpenter says the case
against ABC made clear that reporting the
truth is not optional. "Reporters must set
personal viewpoints aside and present the
facts if they are to serve the public good," he
says. "To the extent that this case made clear
the ramifications of failing to report the facts
in an unbiased manner, it will, we hope, send

a cautionary note
to journalists and,
in turn, benefit the
meat industry and
the public broadly."
Terms of the
financial settlement
between BPI and
Walt Disney Co.,
were not disclosed
as part of the
agreement. Yet
when the settlement was announced a month
into what had looked like an eight-week trial,
BPI officials and their lawyers seemed happy
with the outcome.
"We are extraordinarily pleased with
this settlement," Chicago-based BPI lawyer
Dan Webb said at the time, just outside the
Union County Courthouse in Elk Point, South
Dakota. BPI and the Roth family also issued
a statement saying, "While this was not an
easy road to travel, it was necessary to begin
rectifying the harm we suffered as a result of
what we believed to be biased and baseless
reporting. Through this process, we have again
established what we all know to be true about
lean finely textured beef. It is beef, and it is
safe, wholesome and nutritious."
In addition to charging that ABC News'
reporting about BPI's product was false and
damaging, the BPI lawsuit also claimed that
ABC knowingly used false information about
the beef product in its news reports, and
interfered with BPI's business relationships
with its customers.

SILVER LINING
In September, the Roths and BPI announced the
creation of a $10 million BPI Family Support
Fund to provide relief to former company
employees who were laid off because of ABC
News' defamation of the company and its LFTB
product. In a letter mailed to all former BPI
employees in the affected work communities,
Eldon Roth wrote: "having successfully
resolved this matter, we can refocus on
rebuilding BPI and reconnecting with you."
"My worst day was going to the plants and
telling those employees we had to close those
plants and they would lose their jobs," Roth
says. "Since that day, we have been trying to
right the wrong that was done to the entire

Rich Jochum is corporate
administrator and
general counsel for BPI.

"We certainly
hope the
ABC lawsuit
will result
in a more
responsible
approach by
journalists
when dealing
with subject
matter like
this."
- ELDON ROTH

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