Day 037 - 14 Oct 94 - Page 61


     
     1        Mr. Rampton jumped in.
     2
     3   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I prefer you to stand up and say it out
     4        loud, so we can all hear what it is.
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:  All right.  I will say sorry, but Mr. Rampton
     7        actually does do it quite a lot from his point of view.
     8        He mutters in the back row as well.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If he does he should not.  The fact is one
    11        either makes an objection, if you are talking to
    12        Mr. Morris about things or to one of your helpers, that
    13        I understand.  That is none of my business.  But if you
    14        are talking, as it were, to raise an objection, stand up,
    15        say it loud and clear and we can hear it.
    16
    17   THE WITNESS:  Can I answer the question, please?
    18
    19   MR. RAMPTON:  No, not just yet, Mr. Cox.  My Lord, I do wish to
    20        make it clear to Ms. Steel.  She is absolutely right, I do
    21        mutter, the difference is I do not expect anybody to pay
    22        any attention to it.   One get used to muttering over a
    23        long career.  I do not mind at all if Ms. Steel mutters,
    24        but I do need to know if there is a formal objection
    25        because if so I will sit down.
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Quite frankly, I think it is better if
    28        no-one says anything to anyone apart members of their own
    29        team, unless they are prepared to stand up and make some
    30        formal objection or the matter gets out of hand, otherwise
    31        everyone gets ratty which seems to be a regular feature on
    32        Friday afternoon.  So that is best avoided.
    33
    34   MR. RAMPTON:  Maybe one can go back.
    35
    36   THE WITNESS:  I did want to try to answer -- I am sorry it is
    37        taking so long to understand it but, as you say, it is
    38        Friday afternoon.  Now, the point of this section in the
    39        book here is talking about meat consumption in terms of
    40        being what scientists call, as I understand, an
    41        independent risk factor.  That is to say, that it is not
    42        necessarily vegetables, Beta-carotene, the fruit, and so
    43        on in the vegetarian diet or a meat free diet.  It is
    44        only, the unique health-promoting factor.
    45
    46        The presence of meat itself also seems to be a significant
    47        factor in the promotion of ill-health.  I precis'd the
    48        study in a few lines here and I think you are being
    49        excessively hard on me for not including other bits and
    50        pieces.  It is a very big study and there is lot else 
    51        which I could include.  The most important fact made here 
    52        is that meat consumption does increase the relative risk, 
    53        as I say, two-and-a-half times more likely to contract
    54        colon cancer when compared to those who ate meat less than
    55        once a month. An important thing here too is that you get
    56        a quotation from one of the scientists.  You do not often
    57        do that.  Scientists are very, very cautious people.  They
    58        do not commit themselves usually in public to statements
    59        such as this.  When you get a scientist saying:  Reducing
    60        red meat consumption is likely to reduce the risk, there

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