Day 186 - 10 Nov 95 - Page 19
1 Sorry, I took a long time to get to it, but I felt the
2 context -----
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I understand that point.
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Now, the section stands on its own, and I do not
7 think that the headings or the cartoon have any effect
8 whatsoever on the quite clear message of the text. The
9 first thing is that it is critical of their nutrition
10 guide; not that it says that anything in the nutrition
11 guide is untrue or a lie, or anything like that; it just
12 says their nutrition guide talks about "mass produced
13 hamburgers, chips colas, milkshakes", and it is claimed
14 that "they are a useful and nutritious part of any diet".
15 So here we have "diet" straightaway. The only point I am
16 referring to McDonald's in that paragraph is talk about
17 "diet" and says what they do not make clear, what they
18 leave out of their nutrition guide is the links between
19 diet and degenerative diseases or ill health, and those
20 links are accepted medical facts.
21
22 So the entire first two paragraphs are about diet and the
23 links between diet and disease. McDonald's is only used as
24 a kind of reference point or something. But, really, that
25 is critical of their nutrition guide and of links between
26 diet and disease.
27
28 In fact, by referring to nutrition guides, it really offers
29 the reader a chance to find out for themselves in any case,
30 as a specialist publication would do.
31
32 The "schoolboy howler" is entirely one made by the
33 Plaintiffs in this case, in confusing diet and food,
34 specific food products. They have not made that schoolboy
35 howler because they are unaware of or ignorant of these
36 issues; it is because of course it suits them in this case,
37 legally.
38
39 The next sentence talks about processed burgers and
40 synthetic chips, in general, junk food. So we are talking,
41 again, about a type of product and a type of food being
42 junk food, which McDonald's prefer to call fast food.
43
44 The next paragraph, effectively, the key part of that
45 paragraph is in the middle: "This sort of fake food
46 encourages over-eating." That is really the key to that
47 paragraph. It is critical of a type of food and
48 over-eating.
49
50 Just on the subject of the headings, the "McCancer" is not
51 over the top of that particular section; it may or may not
52 relate to that section. I agree exactly with what Helen
53 said about the headings being satirical in using the
54 McDonald's symbol and -----
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Does "cancer" appear anywhere else apart from
57 in the food section? It is not in the -----
58
59 MR. MORRIS: The word "cancer" does not appear anywhere else,
60 although it is clear from the text that it could relate
