Day 269 - 25 Jun 96 - Page 23
1 Events in the USA and developing countries help answer the
2 questions posed above, namely were McDonald's in the period
3 prior to the pamphlet, engaged in persuading people to eat
4 meals which were compositionally contrary to the national
5 and international recommendations on the prevention of
6 heart disease. It seems to me that the experience in the
7 USA, UK and developing countries attest to the success of
8 their persuasion?"
9
10 I think there is a question-mark, a stray question-mark
11 there.
12
13 MR. MORRIS: Should that question-mark be there?
14 A. Yes, I think you can leave that question-mark there.
15 I would like to leave it, as it does seem to me that I can
16 in no way prove that statement.
17
18 MS. STEEL: But that is your opinion?
19 A. It is my opinion, the question that I feel one really
20 needs to ask oneself.
21
22 Q. Right, it is a question that you are posing and for
23 yourself you have answered it and you believe that is the
24 case?
25 A. I believe that they have made a substantial
26 contribution, yes.
27
28 Q. "McDonald's is not the only factor nor the only force
29 moving people in this direction but they do claim to be a
30 world leader."
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a minute. The world war II
33 experience I think has always occurred in the evidence in
34 the context of heart disease? Was any analysis done in
35 relation to cancers, in particular cancers of the breast of
36 bowel?
37 A. I am afraid I cannot answer that question, my Lord. I
38 feel sure that statistics would be available if one was to
39 enquire in the appropriate quarters.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, thank you. Paragraph 3?
42
43 MS. STEEL: I think it is meant to be paragraph 4 because the
44 last paragraph was paragraph 3?
45 A. Was it? That is my fault. My apologies.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
48
49 MS. STEEL: "4.0 Behaviour of other aspects of the food industry
50 to the medical evidence."
51
52 (Pause) Sorry, I am just making a mote of something.
53
54 "The final point worth considering is this: The major
55 rise in heart disease since the war stretched from 1945 to
56 the late 1980's when a welcome reversal began. In the
57 1950's and 1960's Unilever was criticised as a major
58 contributor to the saturated fat intake in Western Europe.
59 Conscious of this fact they introduced a polyunsaturated -
60 low saturated fat margarine. For a while, this brand
