So Beef Products, Inc. has filed a $1.2 billion lawsuit in South Dakota over defamation of its famous ground beef filler:

The 257-page lawsuit names American Broadcasting Companies, Inc., ABC News, Inc., (Diane) Sawyer and ABC correspondents Jim Avila and David Kerley as defendants. It also names Gerald Zirnstein, the USDA microbiologist who named the product “pink slime,” Carl Custer, a former federal food scientist, and Kit Foshee, a former BPI quality assurance manager who was interviewed by ABC.

The “defendants engaged in a monthlong vicious, concerted disinformation campaign against BPI,” the lawsuit claims.

In light of these developments, “pink slime” (so sorry) will now be referred to as “super delicious giver of life meat” on this blog.

This isn’t a surprising development. I guess the company has concluded that the benefits of going after its critics will outweigh any risks posed by putting super delicious giver of life meat under the legal microscope.

No word on whether Congress has launched its probe, requested by Gov. Terry Branstad. This just in, Congress is not capable at this point of launching anything.