ORANGEBURG, South Carolina — Bernie Sanders alleged that CBS once canceled an interview with him — because Monsanto, the agricultural tech giant, had threatened to sue the network.

During a town hall event here on Saturday night, a voter asked Sanders about Monsanto. Questions about agribusiness and genetically-modified food are not unusual at Sanders events, but on Saturday night the Vermont senator claimed his criticism of the industry and Monsanto's objection caused CBS to cancel an interview:

Monsanto is a very, very powerful corporation. They are one of the leaders in food technology and basically working hard to transform our food system. Let me tell you a funny story, or not so funny. In my state, a great dairy state, we have a lot of dairy cows. There was an effort to put what was called BGH, bovine growth hormone, which is a stimulant that makes cows produce cows more milk but is unhealthy. I was against that. I'll never forget this. I was invited by CBS, not a small company, to appear on television to talk about why I was opposed to bovine growth hormone. CBS then called me up and said, 'Well, Monsanto is threatening to sue us, so we can't go on with it.' They are very powerful.

Asked when this incident took place or for other details about the incident, Sanders campaign aides did not immediately offer any further information on Sanders's recollection.