Day 030 - 03 Oct 94 - Page 60


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is page 16.
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  Page 16.  The point there about -- do you want to
     4        read that paragraph?
     5        A.  The paragraph under the asterisks:  "The Committee
     6        suggests that agencies involved in education of public
     7        information should be encouraged to disseminate
     8        information on the relationship between dietary
     9        nutritional factors and the incidence of cancer and to
    10        hypothesise the conclusions to implement dietary
    11        guidelines in this report.  It should be made clear that
    12        the weight of evidence suggests that what we eat during
    13        our lifetime strongly influences the probability of
    14        developing certain kinds of cancer.  It is not now
    15        possible, and may never be possible, to specify a diet
    16        that protects all people against all forms of cancer.  The
    17        co-operation of the food industry should be sought to help
    18        implement the dietary guidelines described above."
    19
    20        Then it mentions the recommendation -- then it recommends
    21        that the NCI issue guidelines which, indeed, it then did
    22        do.
    23
    24   Q.   Yes.  So if, for example, the food industry produces
    25        nutritional information about its products, is it saying
    26        there that they should include the kinds of conclusions
    27        they are coming to in this report?
    28        A.  Well, people do not eat leaflets.  I think the
    29        recommendation there is, I think, what is really meant
    30        there is that the nature of food itself should change
    31        rather than the nature of what is printed to advertise the
    32        food.
    33
    34   Q.   What about the next document which is entitled:  "Eat
    35        well, live well; healthy eating campaign".  Do you want to
    36        briefly summarise who produced this document?
    37        A.  I thought it might cheer up the court to have
    38        something not only in ordinary language but with some
    39        pictures on it after all this rather dry text.  This
    40        document was produced to accompany the launch in the
    41        United Kingdom of the 1990 WHO report and, as you can see
    42        if you have a copy of the whole thing, the inside front
    43        cover, identifies its status because it is signed by
    44        Professor Phillips James who is Chairman of the WHO
    45        panel.
    46
    47        What happened was a group of public interest organisations
    48        got together to produce the report.  It was funded by the
    49        Health Education Authority.  The administration for the
    50        initiative was supplied by the Consumers Association and 
    51        other bodies, notably, the Guild of Food Writers and the 
    52        Coronary Prevention Group drafted the report to be 
    53        approved by Professor James.  So that what you see there
    54        in clear terms, and very much in food related terms, is
    55        what the WHO Report recommended.
    56
    57        This document does not have too much to say about
    58        disease.  It is deliberately pitched in a rather positive
    59        way.  But towards the end there are two pages called "Food
    60        Nutrition and Health:  Your Questions Answered" which

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