Day 287 - 25 Oct 96 - Page 20


     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  "Did not McDonald's in Germany or any branch of it
     2        utilise beef which originated from cattle fed on soya feed
     3        some of which was imported from Brazil." He said he has no
     4        personal knowledge, has made all due inquiries. "To the
     5        best of my information, knowledge and belief, so obtained,
     6        the answer is no."
     7
     8        I can only conclude that Mr. Nicholson had been misinformed
     9        on this subject, which would bring into doubt the other
    10        answers that he gave on other subjects and, also, to any
    11        hearsay he may have given in court, relying on what other
    12        people were telling him -- because this is an inquiry made
    13        at the direction of the court, where there is an obligation
    14        to make all due diligent inquiries, as opposed to
    15        discovery, which is slightly different.
    16
    17        He also was asked -- this was number II in the
    18        interrogatories -- "In or around 1979, did not McDonald's
    19        Guatemala utilise beef which originated from Industrie de
    20        Granaderos, Guatemalacus", a beef packing plant in
    21        Guatemala; and, "to the best of his information, knowledge
    22        or belief, so obtained, the answer is no".
    23
    24        Well, the evidence we have heard in this court is that they
    25        were supplied from IGG something like between 1974 and
    26        1976.  So, although the question was "in or around 1979"
    27        and, therefore, the answer would have been "yes" in 1974 to
    28        1976, whatever.  If you remember, there was a grey area,
    29        anyway, where it was not clear when their supplies stopped
    30        and Procasa took over.
    31
    32        So, again, that is either not correct or a deliberate
    33        evasion of coming forward with some information that the
    34        court was entitled to.
    35
    36        My last point on this subject, before I move on to other
    37        bits and pieces, the last couple of points.  Seigfried
    38        Parta, in his statement, deals with the investigations that
    39        he has made, conclusions of his investigations regarding
    40        Brazilian soya used for German cattle.  That is an
    41        unchallenged Civil Evidence Act notice statement.
    42
    43        The final point on soya is that Mr. Morganti, in one of his
    44        statements, talks about chicken product for McDonald's use
    45        in Brazil.  Chickens consume soya feed; and we know that
    46        the volume of chickens sold by McDonald's is substantial.
    47        That is an additional point, that soya feed which --
    48        Brazilian soya feed would be going to McDonald's products
    49        in Brazil through chickens.  I didn't really express that
    50        very well.  There was other evidence in the case about 
    51        chickens using soya feed.  I think Mark Patteson did. 
    52 
    53        So, if you like, there is the direct connection between
    54        chickens fed on soya in Brazil, but there is the general
    55        global case that other animals (in particular, in this
    56        case, chickens) are likely to be fed with soya feed; and
    57        McDonald's is stimulating a global demand for that kind of
    58        product.  Particularly chickens, I think, are important,
    59        because they are the world's (I think) first or second
    60        largest users of chicken worldwide, by their own

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