Day 285 - 23 Oct 96 - Page 20
1 they are going to be concerned about the rainforest it
2 will be as a result of public criticism and campaigns such
3 as the international campaign launched by Friends of the
4 Earth about the subject.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Did you say customs or customers?
7
8 MR. MORRIS: Customers. And therefore, really what it comes
9 down to in terms of this issue, the only relevant criteria
10 that would affect McDonald's on their beef supplies, apart
11 from public protest, of which the London Greenpeace fact
12 sheet was, you know, some part of that long process
13 initiated by others, is economics.
14
15 And we all know what economics means. It means profits,
16 the need for substantial and cheap supplies, and that is
17 how an industry works. So all a manager would have to say
18 is, a McDonald's purchaser in any country in the world,
19 the last twenty years or whenever, is where are we getting
20 our beef from, how much does it cost, economic
21 considerations. Unless of course they were being
22 scrutinised or on the defensive about public criticism
23 from customers, which effectively means from public
24 scrutiny by campaigning organisations or
25 conservationalists or whatever. So really economics is
26 the only consideration.
27
28 And Dr. Gonzalez said on day 68, page 10, line 28: Not
29 every import passes through central administration. So
30 not only can he, could he -- well, in other words, even if
31 McDonald's wanted to, they cannot know who is importing
32 and exporting what to whom within their system. And we
33 therefore conclude that it is inevitable that Latin
34 American and Central American beef or beef from rainforest
35 countries has been used by McDonald's elsewhere, apart
36 from the examples that we have categorically proved, and
37 because there is absolutely no reason why they should not
38 have done so, it is just an economic consideration.
39
40 Now, when did McDonald's bring in their rainforest policy
41 published first published in 1989? I think it is
42 established - and I have not got the reference for this -
43 by Ray Cesca, after extensive cross-examination, that
44 previous to that it was just discussions, that there were
45 some general verbal exchanges between McDonald's and
46 suppliers from time to time saying that we have got to be
47 environmentally responsible, and that when, I think it was
48 Mr. Cesca said something --
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not think you need give me the
51 reference for that, because I have got that point. When
52 he was pressed by you or Miss Steel, it turned out that
53 what he meant was that it was part of the ethics of the
54 company that they did not do anything which is
55 environmentally harmful, something basically to that
56 effect, rather than a specific rainforest policy.
57
58 MR. MORRIS: Yes. Because I think that McDonald's had been
59 trying up to that point to say that their rainforest
60 policy had existed since the first store had opened, and
