Day 298 - 11 Nov 96 - Page 19
1 millions of people that are eating substantial amounts of
2 McDonald's foods may have had their diet so affected
3 negatively.
4
5 And we think we have conclusively shown that they will, by
6 any logistical analysis of the situation, with all the
7 compounding factors, will have had their diet affected and
8 some of them, et cetera. So we believe we have shown,
9 through this exercise, a far greater test than we have been
10 set by the meaning which you have decided.
11
12 Therefore, if someone's diet is poor, you then go on to
13 say, will there be a very real risk you will suffer
14 diseases. And obviously if someone's diet may have been so
15 -- we believe we have already proved the links between
16 diet and disease and that they are causal. That is
17 completely established, we believe, with no serious
18 challenge, despite all the evidence of the Plaintiffs, but
19 obviously, if some people's diet has been, is poor, and
20 that McDonald's has made a contribution either because of
21 the kind of food that they are selling or promoting, or all
22 the compounding factors I have mentioned, then there
23 obviously is a very real risk. In fact, you could argue
24 that we only have to show that one person had had that very
25 real risk for it to be accurate, because under your
26 meaning, it just says the implication is that if you eat it
27 a lot it may make your diet high in fat with the real risk
28 that you, that person doing that, will suffer cancer of the
29 breast or bowel or heart disease as a result.
30
31 So I think that although we have shown that the reality is
32 that millions of people are having their diet influenced,
33 and all the compounding factors mean that McDonald's is
34 responsible for dietary patterns in a number of ways, that
35 in some ways that is a challenge which we have taken on and
36 we believe proven, which may not really be necessary, based
37 on the interpretation of your meaning, which is really to
38 say to somebody, what we are saying in the leaflet is if
39 you eat this kind of food to a certain extent it may make
40 your diet high in X, Y, Z with the result that you will
41 suffer a very real risk. I think that is all basically
42 proven scientific fact before we even come on to the
43 realistic numbers of hundreds of millions of people that
44 McDonald's are influencing through their promotion of such
45 foods.
46
47 So I think the numbers game, if you like, is in some ways,
48 obviously, we don't know how you are thinking in all ways,
49 but we feel we have done a great deal more than we would
50 have to, and Helen is going to come on to the detail of
51 that in terms of numbers.
52
53 MS. STEEL: Just to tie up a few loose points, before I forget
54 them. When you are weighing up the evidence of Professor
55 Wheelock, which in actual fact ended up being, in the vast
56 majority of it, in our favour, that he seemed to change, he
57 seemed to have changed his mind since he had become a
58 consultant for McDonald's about whether or not it was a
59 good idea for people to eat high fat snacks. Before he was
60 a consultant for McDonald's, he published a paper saying it
