Day 313 - 13 Dec 96 - Page 47
1
2 "Synthetic chips", I think that has now been dropped, but
3 'synthetic' would be comment, and "junk food" would be
4 comment, based upon all the previous points. "Food so
5 lacking in bulk it is hardly possible to chew it", that is
6 comment, I would say. "This sort of fake food encourages
7 over-eating", we would say that is comment. I mean 'fake',
8 I think at the end of the day because of this section it
9 may not be that important, certainly we think the word
10 'craving' is comment, and the final sentence would be
11 comment. "That means, i.e.", this is a comment that could
12 be drawn from the facts that have gone before. "More
13 profit for McDonald's", et cetera.
14
15 The reason I have dealt with this section, even though the
16 meaning has been decided, is because we think that your
17 meaning contains comment in it and that the point is that
18 because we believe the original text contains comment, and
19 indeed the cartoon itself. "If the slaughterhouse don't
20 get you the junk food will", we say that is comment. It
21 should be protected speech, but if it is going to be given
22 any weight then it should be considered to be comment and,
23 therefore, the contextual inference that has been given
24 over the nutrition text should be an inference towards
25 comment, of a comment nature, in your final ruling on the
26 meaning of that section.
27
28 In the next page the word 'poisoning' in the heading there
29 we would say is clearly comment, and in the next section,
30 "What is it like working for McDonald's?", I think the
31 words 'like' implies a comment. The point is, it is not in
32 itself a comment because it does not say anything that is
33 defamatory but it adds a kind of atmosphere of comment to
34 that section that is coming up. "There must be a serious
35 problem", we say a 'serious problem' is comment. One point
36 is that low wages comes in twice. In one paragraph it is
37 linked under the 'no unions allowed', it is linked to pay
38 and conditions, which is a general charge in catering.
39 "Workers in catering do badly in terms of pay and
40 conditions", we would say is clearly a general charge and
41 therefore entitled to pray in aid any evidence relevant to
42 conditions and pay.
43
44 But then at the end of the paragraph under "trained to
45 sweat", it says "no need to employ chefs or qualified staff
46 for anybody prepared to work for low wages", and therefore
47 there is a completely autonomous statement about the low
48 wages not linked to conditions, poor pay and bad
49 conditions.
50
51 Helen has pointed out that the last sentence in the first
52 paragraph in that section, "the reasons are not hard to
53 find", is a comment about what is to follow, or the links
54 between what has been said and what is to follow.
55
56 In the final sentence, "the truth is McDonald's are only
57 interested in recruiting cheap labour", we would say that
58 has the character of a comment because, obviously, they are
59 interested in making lots of profits. Throughout the rest
60 of the text of the leaflet it is clear they are interested
