Day 285 - 23 Oct 96 - Page 18


     
     1        from Costa Rica, Guatemala or Brazil to McDonald's
     2        elsewhere.  I know you say it is sufficient if it is
     3        exported to any one, because --
     4
     5   MR. MORRIS:   Yes
     6
     7   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- of the hamburg connection, but at the
     8        moment, as I understand it, the point you are on is export
     9        to McDonald's elsewhere.  If you have got some evidence of
    10        that, for instance the 83 tons or however much it was to
    11        the UK, or the Civil Evidence Act statements in
    12        Jungleburger, then I understand you can say that is not
    13        gainsaid by the existence of a policy, because the policy
    14        is worthless.  But the worthlessness of the policy, if
    15        that is a good point, cannot prove that there were other
    16        exports somewhere which you do not have at least some
    17        prima facie evidence of, can it?
    18
    19   MR. MORRIS:   Well, I would argue that because Dr. Gonzalez
    20        accepted that there was in fact no policy effectively on,
    21        for example, Brazilian beef being exported for McDonald's
    22        use elsewhere and that the only examples we have found are
    23        entirely by chance, such as the UK example or out of the
    24        direct personal knowledge of Dr. Gonzalez, who has only
    25        been employed for four years or something at McDonald's,
    26        and I apologise if I have that timescale wrong --
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do not worry.  I am interested on the point
    29        of principle.
    30
    31   MR. MORRIS:   It is certain as night follows day, inevitable
    32        that Brazilian beef was exported and used by McDonald's
    33        outside of Brazil in the past, because we would say the
    34        policy is either so contradictory or so worthless as not
    35        to offer any protection whatsoever.
    36
    37        If I can add to that, and that would go for Costa Rica and
    38        Guatemala as well, although I think the case on Costa Rica
    39        is particularly strong because they are a major -- we have
    40        heard a lot of detail about their export capability and
    41        exports generally of beef from Costa Rica, the majority of
    42        which went to the USA.  But as we have, I can't remember
    43        where, we did see that there were exports to other
    44        countries in our export documents that we have provided
    45        from Costa Rica, which Arturo Wolf helpfully went through
    46        with us, I think.
    47
    48        If I can just add this point, David Walker, the sole
    49        supplier of McDonald's hamburgers in this country since
    50        1978, was completely unaware of any policy, you know,
    51        about having to purchase only locally produced beef or
    52        even European beef, when he imported the Brazilian beef, 
    53        and he had never even heard of a rainforest policy or
    54        Brazilian beef policy when he did that, despite the fact
    55        that McDonald's claimed before that time there was a
    56        worldwide edict from the desk of the chairman of the
    57        entire corporation.
    58
    59        So if an edict from such a person is not even communicated
    60        to a sole supplier of a major country in the McDonald's

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