Day 296 - 07 Nov 96 - Page 29


     
     1        implied criticism there of McDonald's food, that McDonald's
     2        food plays a part in that equation.
     3
     4        Now, of course, it is in a McDonald's pamphlet, but the
     5        association is there.
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Well, is that right?   I thought you were
     8        going to say it is implicit that you can eat at McDonald's
     9        and have a healthy diet.
    10
    11   MR. MORRIS:   Yes, that as well.  That is true, and that was one
    12        the problems with the 1987 advertising campaign, that they
    13        were implying that the balance could come from within -----
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   I understand that point.
    16
    17   MR. MORRIS:   I am making the point of the context being...
    18        Because it may be said that this is a sort of abstract
    19        statement about links between diet and disease.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Oh, no.
    22
    23   MR. MORRIS:   It is actually in the context of McDonald's food,
    24        that is what I am saying.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes.
    27
    28   MR. MORRIS:   Because that is what was said about the London
    29        Greenpeace fact sheet, that it is clearly critical of
    30        McDonald's food.  I am saying that any member of the public
    31        reading that, despite their own pamphlet, would see that it
    32        relates to McDonald's food.
    33
    34        Dr. Arnott was asked about this on page 31 of day 22 and he
    35        was asked about a quote from that McDonald's pamphlet which
    36        said, "It is important to remember that although diet is an
    37        important contributory factor to these diseases it is not
    38        the only one".  Question, "Do you think that would be a
    39        quite reasonable position in 1985 and still a reasonable
    40        position?" Answer, "I think it is very reasonable."  Then I
    41        said, "It is an important contributory factor, not may
    42        be".  Answer, "They are saying it is an important
    43        contributory factor...", et cetera.
    44
    45        Then the next point is the important point.  I said,
    46        "Including cancer, some forms of cancer, it does not say
    47        which forms, it just says some forms of cancer."  Answer,
    48        "But I mean, it is a very reasonable position to take."
    49
    50        So what I am saying here is that Dr. Arnott, as we will
    51        hear, anyway, was trying to say it was all a bit cloudy
    52        but, when faced with both the McDonald's pamphlet and the
    53        London Greenpeace fact sheet, clearly defended that as a
    54        reasonable position to take in a public document, saying
    55        that diet is an important contributory factor to heart
    56        disease and cancer.
    57
    58        The last point about that 1985 pamphlet is that Paul
    59        Preston said he would be happy to print it again, when he
    60        was in the box.

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