Day 294 - 05 Nov 96 - Page 06


     
     1        we are talking about in terms of numbers.
     2
     3        Anyway, then it goes on to say, "In addition to growth
     4        promoting hormone drugs", which we have heard are used in
     5        America and banned in Europe because of health concerns,
     6        "and pesticide residues in their feed" - we have heard
     7        evidence about pesticide residues.  Sorry, the hormones use
     8        in Europe was only banned...  I think it was 1989, or
     9        something, so that would still be relevant to this case,
    10        for Europe as well as for America.
    11
    12        "Build up in the animals tissues can..."  We have heard
    13        evidence about pesticide residues in animal tissues,
    14        I think Dr. North referred to that.  I emphasise the word
    15        'can', "further damage the health of people on a meat
    16        based diet."  So there it is defining poison not just as a
    17        food poisoning incident in the traditional sense, but also
    18        the general damage to health of people on a meat based
    19        diet, not only through the general nutrition, the unhealthy
    20        food section, but also through growth promoters and
    21        pesticides, antibiotics or whatever.
    22
    23        We have heard about antibiotics, how there is increasing
    24        concern, if not alarm, at the growing resistance to
    25        treatment that people have now to antibiotics, because of
    26        antibiotics used in animal husbandry, and the consequent
    27        immunity problems to treatment.  So the reference to a meat
    28        based diet shows that the word 'poison' is not only
    29        something that can be seen to be an acute risk but is also
    30        a long term risk.
    31
    32        Of course, for children the long term risk is important
    33        because if they start off eating poor quality food and
    34        being taught that food is entertainment, poor quality food
    35        can be dressed up as something beneficial, in fact even
    36        promoted as healthy by McDonald's, but the experience
    37        supersedes the concerns that children should be learning as
    38        they are growing up to be able to discriminate and
    39        understand something that is so important as the food they
    40        are eating.
    41
    42        The context of that last paragraph under 'toy food' is
    43        about nutrition - "not a lot of children are interested in
    44        nutrition, even if they were all these gimmicks hide the
    45        reality", and I think that that is a very important point
    46        in terms of the context of the statement that the food is
    47        at best mediocre, at worse poisonous.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Is there a meaning which is defamatory of
    50        McDonald's there at all on your argument of matters?   The
    51        meaning which was pleaded, which it is said you and
    52        Ms. Steel aimed to justify, was that meat is responsible
    53        for the majority of cases of food poisoning and chicken and
    54        minced meat are particularly bad, which I would have
    55        thought, on the face of it, is not defamatory of McDonald's
    56        at all.  Since we are only concerned with defamatory
    57        statements and meanings, then if it is not defamatory that
    58        is the end of this section; if its meaning is not
    59        defamatory, whatever its meaning is.  Have you formulated a
    60        meaning, is there any meaning there in your view which is

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