Among the more objectionable portions of Oprah Winfrey’s show on beef was a statement that mad cow disease “could make AIDS look like the common cold,” the son of a man suing her testified Thursday. “I could not make the comparison in my mind between AIDS and the common cold, and how much more horrific this disease could become,” said Mike Engler, son of lead plaintiff Paul Engler and senior vice president of Cactus Feeders Inc. The younger Engler, who has a doctorate in biochemistry, disputed a number of statements made on Winfrey’s show by Howard Lyman, a food safety activist and co-defendant in the case. Plaintiffs cite a segment on mad cow disease in which Winfrey swore off hamburgers after Lyman told her processed livestock was being fed to cattle. The plaintiffs’ attorney, Joseph Coyne, charged that Winfrey and her production company allowed false and defamatory statements about beef into the broadcast in an effort to generate a “scary” show to boost ratings. One of Mike Engler’s examples of what he thought was false about the show was an exchange between Winfrey and Lyman in which she asked him, “You said this disease could make AIDS look like the common cold?” Lyman answered, “Absolutely.”
