Day 053 - 22 Nov 94 - Page 07
1 MS. STEEL: No. I am not trying to. I was going to go on to
2 the rest of the leaflet. We recognise that the leaflet has
3 to be read in context, or the sections of leaflet have to
4 be read in the context of the whole leaflet; and that is,
5 in fact, in our pleadings in any event.
6
7 What we do object to is the interpretation of the context
8 that the Plaintiffs have put to this court. We
9 specifically reject what they are saying.
10
11 The title ,"What's wrong with McDonald's? Everything they
12 don't want you to know", just indicates what the leaflet is
13 about. There is no way that it could be said to
14 specifically relate to their hiding a causal connection
15 between their meals and cancer and heart disease. It is
16 just saying that they have something to hide in
17 general. It does not even necessarily relate to nutrition
18 but, if it does, it could easily relate to McDonald's
19 trying to show in their Nutrition Guide that mass-produced
20 hamburgers, chips, colas and milkshakes are a useful and
21 nutritious part of any diet, whereas the reality is that
22 food high in fat, sugar, sodium, etc., which describes a
23 typical McDonald's meal, is not a useful, nutritious part
24 of any diet.
25
26 I would say the same in relation to the introductory
27 passage, that there is no way that that can specifically be
28 said to relate to a causal connection between their meals
29 and heart disease and cancer.
30
31 In fact, I would point out that it says: "The truth about
32 hamburgers is enough to put you off them for life." That
33 could equally apply if you learn about what goes on in the
34 slaughterhouse, or if you learn about the wasteful use of
35 grain to feed cattle, that you may get put off hamburgers
36 for life. It is about the hamburger industry, not
37 specifically just about McDonald's.
38
39 In relation to this -- this is a point that Mr. Rampton
40 does not mention -- on page 5 of the leaflet in the
41 box "Everything must go", it does say:
42
43 "What's wrong with McDonald's is also wrong with all the
44 junk-food chains like Wimpy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy,
45 etc. All of them hide their ruthless exploitation of
46 resources, animals and people behind a facade of colourful
47 gimmicks and 'family fun'. The food itself is much the
48 same everywhere - only the packaging is different. The
49 rise of these firms means less choice, not more. They are
50 one of the worst examples of industries motivated only by
51 profit and geared to continual expansion."
52
53 Right at the very end:
54
55 "The point is not to change McDonald's into some sort of
56 vegetarian organisation, but to change the whole system
57 itself."
58
59 Obviously, that is referring to the whole system of
60 fast-food, the whole of the hamburger industry, not
