Day 031 - 05 Oct 94 - Page 49


     
     1        A.  No, I am sorry, I do not.  (Handed)
     2
     3   Q.   If you go to the section:  "What is so unhealthy about
     4        McDonald's food"?
     5        A.  Yes.
     6
     7   Q.   Then the second paragraph under that:  "What they don't
     8        make clear is that a diet high in fat, sugar, animal
     9        products and salt and low in fibre, vitamins and minerals
    10        which describes an average McDonald's meal is linked with
    11        cancers of the breast and bowel and heart disease.  This
    12        is accepted medical fact, not a cranky theory.  Every year
    13        in Britain heart disease alone causes about 180,000
    14        deaths".
    15
    16        Your particular area of expertise is the role of dietary
    17        fat in nutrition and the relation of that to disease.
    18        What is your opinion of that statement?
    19        A.  Without going into the debatable use of the word
    20        "medical fact" (because I am not quite sure what that
    21        means) I would say that a diet high in fat and animal
    22        products if, presumably, we mean land animal products, is
    23        linked with cancers of the breast, bowel and heart disease
    24        is a very fair comment on the basis of our present
    25        knowledge.
    26
    27   Q.   In your view, is that something that is generally accepted
    28        by the medical profession?
    29        A.  I think it is.  I think if one looks at the
    30        recommendations that we have been discussing, that I am
    31        sure you have just discussed before, that this represents
    32        a very wide range of medical opinion and scientific
    33        opinion which is of that view.
    34
    35   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I have this observation to make about
    36        that last series of questions, and it is this:  First of
    37        all, of course, the question what in proper context those
    38        words mean is for your Lordship and not for this witness
    39        or, indeed, for Ms. Steel to decide.  The second and
    40        perhaps more serious problem is this:  The Defendants have
    41        been in the habit since this case began of extracting in
    42        obviously a wholly selective way pieces of evidence from
    43        the transcripts of the hearing and distributing them to
    44        the public at large.
    45
    46        It does seem to me, at least, that that last series of
    47        questions was designed, at least in part, to fuel that
    48        line of communication with the world at large; if so, it
    49        should be prevented now.
    50 
    51   MR. MORRIS:  I want to object very strongly to that.  We were 
    52        asked to put certain points to witnesses to make our case 
    53        clear.  That was the intention of that question.
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, I say, I have taken it on that basis.
    56        At the end of the day I am going to have to select the
    57        answers which help me to a conclusion which I have to
    58        draw.  The answers to questions which I am not minded to
    59        stop you asking, but whatever the witness's answer is, I
    60        know only I can answer for the purposes of this

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