Day 078 - 26 Jan 95 - Page 48
1 McDonald's defence to the public criticism about use of
2 beef from ex-rainforest land has been: "No, we do not use
3 imported beef. We are not responsible". If that claim is
4 shown to be a total sham (which I think it has been), then
5 that, obviously, reflects on the truth of the rest of their
6 claims. So, I think it is relevant for that reason.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think you have gone as far as you can with
9 this witness on that.
10
11 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, may I say something at that juncture
12 because it is all very well for Ms. Steel to make speeches
13 about "total sham"; (a) I reject the proposition that there
14 is any evidence in this court showing that to be so; (b)
15 and perhaps more important, the Defendants continually lose
16 sight (or perhaps do not, I do not know) of the fact that
17 they have a positive case to make. That applies not just
18 to Costa Rica, Guatemala but also to Brazil.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I was not going to take issue with Ms. Steel
21 as to the merits or otherwise of what she has said as to
22 the relevance of it, but my point just is at the moment
23 I think you have gone as far as you can down that line with
24 Mr. Walker.
25
26 MS. STEEL: Can I just say also actually, it is up to the
27 Plaintiffs to put a positive case in respect of the
28 counterclaim to show that they do not use any beef from
29 rainforest land which I do not think that they have done so
30 far.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We are just going back into argument.
33 Everyone in court, including myself, has had something to
34 say about that already, but that does not help with the
35 cross-examination of Mr. Walker. We are not listening to
36 Mr. Walker in-chief now, he is being cross-examined.
37
38 MR. MORRIS: Yes, I will just try to finish off the balance
39 sheet beef and documents related to it. I will do it in
40 the order they are in, not in any sensible order (To the
41 witness):
42 There was a statement in, the Customs & Excise said that an
43 officer had to be in the store to check on the balance
44 sheet beef to see if there was any difference in the weight
45 of the hamburger when cooked as against cold. Is there any
46 significance in this?
47 A. Yes, balance sheet beef into manufacture has to have a
48 yield of 66 per cent. Balance sheet beef going a
49 McDonald's hamburger after cooking has a yield far in
50 excess of that. That was all they had to check -- the
51 shrink.
52
53 Q. What were their concerns?
54 A. It is just the law, what balance sheet beef must
55 yield. For every tonne of balance sheet that you receive,
56 66 per cent of it must be cooked and passed to the
57 customer, or a minimum of 66 per cent.
58
59 Q. There was another statement in one of the letters from
60 yourself to Bob Rhea, President of McDonald's at the time,
