Day 283 - 21 Oct 96 - Page 19
1 it will not trouble me.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: After five years on trial, sometimes it gets hard
4 to be as diplomatic all the time as you might hope to be.
5
6 Can I just say that I did forget that there are comments
7 generally that were made in the original pleadings and
8 I think they are incorporated into the abstract. It is
9 only one page, so if I can just read those out just so they
10 are, if you like, on the record.
11
12 And in terms of the meanings, these were the comments
13 generally that we made in 1990, I think it was or early
14 1991.
15
16 A: That more one finds out about the first and second
17 plaintiffs, the less attractive they become.
18
19 B: That images of third world poverty often used by
20 charities divert attention from one cause, namely
21 exploitation by multi-nationals, such as the first and
22 second plaintiffs.
23
24 C: That the first and second plaintiffs searched endlessly
25 for more and more profit. Further, that by eating their
26 food, one helps them wreck the planet.
27
28 D: Most people regard processed burgers and synthetic
29 chips served in paper or plastic containers as "junk
30 food". Further, that as a sign of the junk quality of Big
31 Macs that people actually hold competitions to see who can
32 eat one in the shortest time. Further, that the craving
33 experienced by some people for the food of McDonald's could
34 lead to constipation, clogged arteries and heart attacks.
35 Further, that the lettuce leaves of the first and second
36 plaintiffs are so treated that they might as well be
37 plastic.
38
39 E: And this is a very important general comment - what is
40 wrong with McDonald's is also wrong with the other fast
41 food chains, such as Wimpey, Kentucky Fried Chicken and
42 Wendy, et cetera.
43
44 If I just move on now back to Appendix 1 again.
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
47
48 MR. MORRIS: We are going to come back to meanings when we go
49 through each section in full detail or the fullest detail
50 as we can manage, but for the moment that gives the
51 background. And also when we go through the sections later
52 on in our closing speech we will obviously try to identify
53 what is fact, what is comment, what is defamatory and what
54 is not, about the meanings that we contend for in the fact
55 sheet.
56
57 We believe we have demonstrated with each of these
58 following issues that the criticisms made in the fact sheet
59 are in the public domain, that McDonald's themselves know
60 or have admitted the basis for those criticisms, and that
