Day 286 - 24 Oct 96 - Page 11
1 comprehensive, and I think it is also significant -- while
2 I am on a discussion of this kind of things in general --
3 that Mr. Rampton chose, for whatever reason he would want
4 to say, to barely test the evidence of our witnesses on
5 this part of the case, and not just Brazil, Costa Rica as
6 well, or challenge their expertise. And it is our
7 understanding that if you are going to challenge someone's
8 expertise, or indeed their evidence, you should do it to
9 their face and you should do it in a proper manner, and we
10 would say that is a recognition by the plaintiffs, any time
11 it has happened in the case, that our witnesses are indeed
12 telling the truth. That is especially true in the case of
13 experts, that it is a necessity to challenge them to their
14 face, because if you are effectively saying they do not
15 know what they are talking about you are attacking their
16 professional conduct and you cannot do that, we would
17 submit, under the privilege of the courts without having
18 challenged them to their face. Just as if - well, yes.
19
20 So, on the subject of displacement of people, we have heard
21 how our experts have explained how the cattle ranching
22 industry in Brazil is displacing, has displaced, large
23 numbers of people from their land which is now devoted to
24 cattle ranching, and, indeed, of course, indigenous peoples
25 as well who have been forced into a kind of reserve. So in
26 terms of non-indigenous people, they have had to go
27 elsewhere. We have heard that that is a significant cause
28 of tropical forest and rainforest destruction, and I will
29 not go into the detail.
30
31 But we also have heard, and George Monbiot again dealt with
32 this as part of his comprehensive understanding of the
33 overall economic patterns, that soya production is part of
34 that displacement process. In fact, I believe -- yes.
35 (Pause). We have, on top of the expert opinion on this
36 subject, the documented information from the most
37 authoritative bodies in Brazil. We have heard about
38 disputes with indigenous people and land disputes in
39 general which have been described as 'the tip of the
40 iceberg', I believe.
41
42 For example, Sue Branford explained that in her testimony
43 for the Gioias area, and obviously Fiona Watson dealt with
44 that as well for Mato Grosso do Sul. I might pick out a
45 few points about specific witnesses' evidence, which may
46 dot around from various subjects.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not worry about that.
49
50 MR. MORRIS: Regarding Mr. Cesca, he joined McDonald's in 1987
51 he said, and so it is hard to believe he could know
52 anything about McDonald's before that time. It would be
53 hearsay. Like with all McDonald's executives and heads of
54 department, much of his evidence was hearsay in any event.
55 He clearly was not an expert, as he admitted, on
56 biodiversity and vegetation, and the impression that we got
57 of him in the witness box was he did not really know what
58 went on on the ground and was relying on what other people
59 were telling him as regards supply sources in general, and
60 the effect of those supply sources in general in Brazil and
