Day 298 - 11 Nov 96 - Page 21
1 that McDonald's particularly bore responsibility in
2 introducing dietary changes into the countries which then
3 would have the undesirable effect on people's health.
4
5 He made a similar point on page 8 of his second statement
6 -- the second statement is the one that was read out the
7 first time he gave evidence -- where he says that not only
8 are McDonald's encouraging the use of a style of food which
9 is closely associated with a risk of cancer and heart
10 disease while professionals are trying to reduce the risks
11 to western populations but they are actively promoting the
12 same in cultures where at present these diseases are not a
13 problem.
14
15 Just a final thing from the evidence of Professor Crawford
16 was that in the Scottish report, the Scottish diet, the
17 report of a working party to the chief medical officer for
18 Scotland produced in December 1993, obviously, they make
19 recommendations for a diet with increased fruit and
20 vegetable intake and lowered fat and sodium intake, and so
21 on.
22
23 But on page 81 of that report they say, "The adoption of
24 the prudent diet described in chapter 5 should reduce the
25 cancer burden, but it would be unrealistic to expect
26 tangible evidence for perhaps twenty years." And it says,
27 "The impact of diet on colon cancer may occur within a
28 twenty year period, so it seems reasonable for almost all
29 age groups to adopt the proposed diet as part of a cancer
30 prevention programme." He agreed with all of this, that is
31 a clear indication that it is not just about specific
32 sectors of the population adopting this diet to prevent
33 cancer; it is about everybody.
34
35 Then there are some figures given for the estimate of the
36 proportion of cancers of the large bowel which could be
37 avoided by altering the intake of those nutrients
38 considered to influence risk, and for saturated fat there
39 is a couple of figures given where they expect a reduction
40 of between 12 and 24 percent.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Where are you getting that from?
43
44 MS. STEEL: This is in the Scottish report.
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Right. But did Professor Crawford say
47 anything about that?
48
49 MS. STEEL: I am pretty sure he did. But it is possible if he
50 did not, somebody else did. I definitely remember those
51 figures being referred to in court.
52
53 MR. RAMPTON: I think he referred -----
54
55 MS. STEEL: If he did not refer to it, somebody else did. In
56 any event, he agreed with all of us.
57
58 MR. RAMPTON: I am trying to help. I think Professor Crawford
59 referred to it on his first visit.
60
