Day 298 - 11 Nov 96 - Page 26
1 those two pages. I don't know whether the pages are
2 actually numbered. I numbered mine.
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: So all those are in comparison with other
5 stores, are they?
6
7 MS. STEEL: Pages 27 and 28 were in comparison with other
8 stores. Well, no, the figures are not in comparison with
9 other stores, but other stores' figures are set out
10 alongside them. But the figures on page 25 were just the
11 figures for McDonald's, which were the ones that I read
12 out.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What is the true context of those figures?
15 They do not prove that, do they? Do you say they are
16 evidence that it is unhealthy or healthy or that it is
17 evidence of the perception of the customers?
18
19 MS. STEEL: Well, Mr. Fairgrieve did say that these figures
20 would not really have changed much over the course of the
21 years, and I think you specifically asked him about at the
22 time of the alleged libel. So I think it is just evidence
23 that most people basically know that despite what the
24 company is trying to portray its food as, it is in fact
25 unhealthy, and so the fact sheet we are being sued over
26 would not have lowered their opinion of McDonald's in those
27 terms.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I understand that. I cannot treat it as
30 evidence that it is unhealthy. I can treat it, you say, as
31 affecting the extent to which its reputation is affected,
32 if in fact there is an unjustified defamatory statement.
33
34 MS. STEEL: Yes. I mean, obviously, we would say that the
35 statement is completely justified anyway, but the point is
36 that that is how a large percentage of their customers view
37 them anyway.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: I think there are two further points. Obviously,
40 if McDonald's customers think that, they are the people
41 that are going to be most positive about McDonald's. That
42 is one consideration. And the other thing is that this
43 point about this question, McDonald's obviously recognise
44 that some food products are healthier than other ones, or
45 some products can be described as healthy and some can be
46 described as unhealthy, which is obviously part of our
47 case, and something they have been try to resist during the
48 trial.
49
50 It is pretty clear, especially in the light of the Food and
51 Drug Administration definition, which is now law in the
52 States, that it is just standard to describe products as
53 healthy or unhealthy or indeed to prevent them being
54 described so.
55
56 By definition, we would say that McDonald's food falls
57 outside the category of healthy and in the category of
58 unhealthy, which is an important point because it relates
59 to the counterclaim press release and McDonald's in the
60 press release say, and which they claim is lies, that the
