Day 032 - 06 Oct 94 - Page 74
1 A. I think I still would. I think 15 per cent heavy
2 consumption, as they call it, across the UK population is
3 significant and if McDonald's, as earlier figures show,
4 are responsible for three-quarters of burger consumption
5 from fastfood outlets, then I would say that is a
6 responsibility that should be undertaken.
7
8 Q. It is not actually 15 per cent of the population; it is 50
9 per cent of customers at McDonald's?
10 A. 15 per cent of those that have visited McDonald's.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
13
14 MR. RAMPTON: It is people who have been there?
15 A. You may have a problem with resampling, of course,
16 because if they are there often you may get them sampled
17 twice.
18
19 Q. I am sure that may be so. We will have to make, as I have
20 said before, sure as we can that these figures are
21 accurate by whatever method his Lordship requires by way
22 of proper proof. Suppose that you ignore the four per
23 cent, take the 11 per cent, which is the major part of
24 your 15 per cent. There is no danger to me if I eat a
25 McDonald's once a week, is there, in itself?
26 A. Well, I do not want to answer that because I do not
27 feel that eating a single meal can be taken as a piece of
28 useful analysis of someone's health.
29
30 Q. I entirely agree with you, Dr. Lobstein. If I eat a
31 McDonald's meal once a week and I fill up the rest of my
32 week with fish and chips, pork pies, salt beef, goodness
33 knows what all, then plainly the McDonald's meal is making
34 its proportionate contribution to risk to my health but no
35 more than that; is that right?
36 A. Yes.
37
38 Q. If I should die of a heart attack prematurely because I
39 have been stuffing my face with saturated fat for most of
40 my life, you could not, could you, say that McDonald's
41 took any major part of the blame for that?
42 A. I would in the sense that if, as you say, 11 per cent
43 of the population are eating with that frequency and one
44 single company is providing that 11 per cent with a weekly
45 meal, then I would say that company does have a
46 responsibility, compared with the multitude of individual
47 shops who might find it much more difficult to take such
48 responsibility. Here you are talking about a large
49 company spread across the whole of the country.
50
51 Q. Providing one meal a day for 11 per cent of its customers?
52 A. Per week.
53
54 Q. Sorry, one week for 11 per cent of its customers?
55 A. Yes.
56
57 Q. If, on the other hand, in contrast to the hypothetical
58 picture which I painted of myself, I went home after my
59 McDonald's meal and ate a sensible, what you would call a
60 sensible meal, let us say, of wholewheat bread and salad,
