Day 059 - 01 Dec 94 - Page 54
1 look at the situation we found what I have just explained,
2 that basically people have applied the same amount of
3 pesticides and fertilizers to growing their product as they
4 have always done because that was the way they always did
5 it and they knew they would get a safe result.
6
7 Now, when you are growing a crop, you need to go through
8 crop year trials to prove it can be done with less. It,
9 therefore, takes a number of years to establish to the
10 farmer that it can be done with less. That has now been
11 done and we feel confident we have made big reductions in
12 the use of pesticides and fertilizers in growing potatoes
13 for McDonald's.
14
15 Q. Again I ask you, why did you do that? Was it simply
16 because you wanted to do burnish your public image?
17 A. No, as I said up front, we felt that this would become
18 an environmental issue over time and, once we had been
19 alerted to the situation, we could see that, yes, there
20 probably was excess usage going on of the use of these
21 fertilizers and pesticides and that, indeed, is what we
22 found.
23
24 Now, if you look at it from the farmer's point of view and
25 then ultimately our point of view and the end customer's
26 point of view, the fewer pesticides and fertilizers that
27 you use in growing, the lower your cost is going to be. So
28 there does become a cost motive. That certainly was not
29 the driving motive at the beginning, but that is a
30 consequence of what we have done.
31
32 Q. The potato is cheaper with fewer pesticides and
33 fertilizers?
34 A. Very, very marginally, yes.
35
36 Q. Finally, Mr. Oakley -- I promise it is finally -- I want to
37 briefly, if I may, to the question of environment/index.html">litter. Does environment/index.html">litter
38 fall within your area of responsibility within the company?
39 A. No, it does not.
40
41 Q. It does not. It is, I suppose it might be said, a
42 consequence of packaging in one sense -- direct or indirect
43 is another question, of course -- do you have any knowledge
44 of McDonald's attitude and response to the environment/index.html">litter problem?
45 A. Well, I know what happens in and around the
46 restaurants.
47
48 Q. Do you know that from direct experience?
49 A. Yes, I cannot be absolutely specific but, yes, I have a
50 broad knowledge of what happens.
51
52 Q. We have heard talk in this court of environment/index.html">litter patrols. Do you
53 know whether they exist or not?
54 A. Yes, they do. Each restaurant would have a environment/index.html">litter
55 patrol operating around the restaurant.
56
57 Q. What sort of area do they operate in?
58 A. I cannot be specific there. It is around 300 yards
59 either side of the restaurant.
60
