Day 033 - 10 Oct 94 - Page 44


     
     1        group, beans are also a part of that group as well as nuts
     2        and eggs and not to mention poultry and fish.  So, the
     3        meat group is historically thought of as a high protein
     4        group, but it is primarily animal products -- meats
     5        mainly.  We have no objection of encouraging children to
     6        eat beans provided they are not prepared with large
     7        amounts of fat, but the other items in that group do have
     8        substantial health concerns associated with them.
     9
    10        So, that was the basis of our complaint and, as
    11        I mentioned in my statement, what actually does help
    12        athletic prowess and, particularly, endurance has been
    13        examined in research going back quite a long way, and this
    14        whole idea that consuming a high protein diet or meat
    15        items, in particular, might help endurance has been
    16        discarded since, at least since before the advent of this
    17        century.  We were concerned that McDonald's would do this
    18        sort of promotion under the guise of National Nutrition
    19        Month.
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What is the American Dietetic Association?
    22        A.  The American Dietetic Association is an association
    23        that represents registered dieticians, that is, people who
    24        are specialists in nutrition.
    25
    26   MR. MORRIS:  So do you know why the American Dietetic
    27        Association is mentioned?
    28        A.  The American Dietetic Association did play some
    29        co-operative role in this project with McDonald's; the
    30        nature of that, I do not know.  The American Dietetic
    31        Association has engaged in quite a number of what I am
    32        going to describe as "co-operative projects" with large
    33        corporations in America, and the details of their
    34        arrangement on this one, I cannot describe.
    35
    36   Q.   So, what is your conclusion as to the effect of this
    37        promotion during National Nutrition Month by McDonald's to
    38        children; what is the effect of it?
    39        A.  The effect of it would be that children would be asked
    40        to associate toys, things that children enjoy -- rewards,
    41        if you will -- with eating foods that over the long run
    42        can be dangerous to their health.
    43
    44   Q.   You are saying that not only are they bad for your health
    45        but it is not even true the claims they are making, is
    46        that what you are saying?
    47        A.  Yes.  And there is simply no substantiation for the
    48        claims made on this booklet.  Those statements are false,
    49        I think they are misleading and ultimately harmful to the
    50        children. 
    51 
    52   Q.   The result of your complaint, is that something we will 
    53        not know for some time?
    54        A.  We have not yet had an answer from either McDonald's
    55        Corporation, to my knowledge, or from the Federal Trade
    56        Commission.
    57
    58   Q.   What is the dietary component that, in your opinion, is
    59        linked to endurance?
    60        A.  Well, it has been known for quite some -----

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