Day 286 - 24 Oct 96 - Page 32


     
     1        pounds.  That is in the context of production is increasing
     2        but local consumption is decreasing.
     3
     4        And this is the point we are making; not only are
     5        multi-national corporations involved in the process of
     6        deforestation and expansion of cattle ranching, but it is
     7        not leading to increased consumption by the populations of
     8        those countries, hunger for land or hunger for food.  Can I
     9        point out that we have not had a break?
    10
    11   MR JUSTICE BELL:  We will have one, which will help you.
    12
    13                         (Short Adjournment)
    14
    15   MR. MORRIS:   Just looking at a couple of witnesses -- well, we
    16        have the statement of Dr. Janssen of McDonald's, which is
    17        conspicuous by its absence of detail about McDonald's
    18        supply areas; and one would have thought that if McDonald's
    19        were seriously trying to respond to the evidence put
    20        forward by the defence, they would have tried to counter
    21        it.  So what has happened with Dr. Janssen, despite him
    22        being called by the Plaintiffs, no doubt they could have
    23        given him the full benefit of details which we have
    24        gradually eked out of them.  He does not really deal with
    25        the problem, except for in the most vague terms; and I
    26        suspect that it was safer not to give him full information
    27        because, otherwise, he may have made conclusions that were
    28        damaging to the Plaintiffs.  But even he, on behalf of the
    29        Plaintiffs, recognised that in that paragraph that by 1950
    30        about half of Costa Rica had been cleared for agricultural
    31        (including cattle ranching) purposes and an additional 25
    32        percent, i.e. half of the rest of the land, was cleared
    33        from the late '50s to the present time.  The acceleration
    34        of clearing from the last 40 years relates to the ability
    35        to clear land faster, and the opening of world markets for
    36        Costa Rica and agricultural products, including cattle
    37        ranching -- we would say primarily cattle ranching, which
    38        is what the document advising Ray Cesca was saying -- the
    39        rainforest has been destroyed principally to be used in
    40        cattle raising, according to point G of that document
    41        behind Cesca's statement.  In point C, on that second page,
    42        more than 50 percent of the deforestation has been done
    43        since 1950 -- more than 50 percent of the deforestation.
    44        That is in the documents behind Mr. Cesca's statement.
    45        When the Cesca document advice document says the rainforest
    46        has been destroyed principally to be used in cattle
    47        raising, then it is absurd to construct that rainforest as
    48        used by the advisers to Mr. Cesca means inaccessible
    49        pre-montain or montain land, which one would think would be
    50        the most unsuitable for cattle raising.  Clearly, they are 
    51        referring to the moist forest areas of Costa Rica. 
    52 
    53        So, going back to Dr. Janssen, he says in his paragraph 8
    54        that there has been no deforestation of any significance in
    55        Guanacaste since the middle '70s, which means that there
    56        was deforestation of significance up to the mid '70s in the
    57        Guanacaste area, by his admission; and the deforestation
    58        map shows deforestation in some parts of Guanacaste
    59        continuing, and certainly in the Nicoya Peninsula.  Dr.
    60        Janssen does not mention the Nicoya Peninsula, but I do not

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