Day 283 - 21 Oct 96 - Page 13
1 it or its subsidiaries, and more generally by increasing
2 the worldwide demand for hamburgers, bears some
3 responsibility for the situation that has developed over a
4 number of years where rainforests have been destroyed and
5 small-scale farmers in those areas have been forced to
6 leave their land.
7
8 Further, that by increasing and satisfying the demand for
9 food such as hamburgers in the developed world, the first
10 and second plaintiffs, McDonald's, have contributed to a
11 situation whereby third world countries are exporting crops
12 to the developed world, in some cases as animal feed, when
13 there are many people within those countries who are
14 starving and undernourished.
15
16 Further, that such practices contribute to the inequality
17 economically between the developed world and the third
18 world. That is point A.
19
20 B: That the huge scale and nature of the first and second
21 plaintiffs' business inevitably involves them in purchasing
22 many tons of paper, most of which is not recycled, and
23 which therefore contributes to the destruction of trees and
24 forests.
25
26 Further, that for many years the first and second plaintiff
27 used materials for food packaging which were harmful to the
28 environment. The first and second plaintiffs continue to
29 use packaging which is harmful to the environment.
30
31 C --
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just let me find each one as you read it.
34
35 MR. MORRIS: Sorry. They should all appear together.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am just looking at them in the abstract.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: Right. C is nutrition. I think they tend to
40 appear towards the end, for some reason.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
43
44 MR. MORRIS: That the first and second plaintiffs do not inform
45 the public of all the facts when they claim that the food
46 they sell is nutritious. Particularly, that the food they
47 sell is high in content such as fat which can be linked to
48 various diseases, especially heart disease and/or cancer.
49
50 The next one is D. I think it was in the nutrition section
51 as well. That McDonald's sell food which is
52 "synthetic" in that it is prepared and cooked in a way
53 that is almost mechanical. Hamburgers and chips are
54 generally uniform in size and content and the cooking
55 techniques are designed to ensure that the food sold is the
56 same the world over.
57
58 Further, that overall the food is not nutritious, nor is it
59 healthy, particularly since it lacks in bulk and requires
60 very little chewing.
