Oprah Talks Mad Cow Disease (1996)

Howard Lyman, a vegetarian activist and former rancher, went on The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss mad cow disease after a 1996 outbreak in England. Gary Weber of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association was brought on for a debate, but Lyman's reveal about the cause of mad-cow disease (cows being fed other cows) had already horrifed the audience. "It has just stopped me cold from eating another burger," Oprah confessed. Two years later, Texas cattlemen sued Winfrey and Lyman for their remarks on the show, claiming that their "false defamation of perishable food" had cost the beef industry millions. Oprah (pictured in 1998) refused to back down, and won the trial after two months in court.