Day 186 - 10 Nov 95 - Page 15


     
     1        expected to read this document twice if there was any
     2        confusion in their mind about any of it.
     3
     4        The law, as far as we understand it, does distinguish
     5        between the type of document that is being read.  Of
     6        course, we would say that however many times we read it the
     7        same message comes out quite clearly, in any event.
     8
     9        Just to go through the actual -- if people have a copy of
    10        it in front of them -- London Greenpeace fact sheet.
    11        Obviously, the front page refers to McDonald's.  The entire
    12        text of the leaflet is about a whole industry and a whole
    13        type of mass production and the effects it is having on
    14        society, but McDonald's is clearly the focus or a symbol;
    15        McDonald's is a symbol of a way of life or a way of
    16        organising food or promoting food.
    17
    18        If we go through the leaflet:  obviously, on the front, the
    19        front refers to a clown covering up a dollar sign in the
    20        eyes.
    21
    22   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  I have read it several times now, so
    23        you just pick out for me the ---
    24
    25   MR. MORRIS:  Yes, the specific things.
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- particular bits you rely on as part of
    28        your argument.
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:  The very introductory parts, the third
    31        paragraph: "We're all subject to the pressures of stupid
    32        advertising, consumerist hype and the fast pace of big city
    33        life."  So here we have a conflict straightaway,
    34        criticising a type of society or a type of industry
    35        practice.  As we go down: "What's the connection between
    36        McDonald's and starvation in the Third World?"  All the
    37        headings are questions, to encourage people to think for
    38        themselves and to look, to see the connections.
    39
    40        The very first paragraph, the last sentence, talks about:
    41        "...does nothing to challenge the power of multinational
    42        corporations."  Here we have a theme that runs throughout
    43        the leaflet.
    44
    45        "Hungry for Dollars.  McDonald's is one of several giant
    46        corporations with investments in vast tracts of poor
    47        countries."
    48
    49        The next paragraph:  "The power of the US dollar means",
    50        etcetera; and then in the bottom of that paragraph:  "Out 
    51        of 40 of the world's poorest countries, 36 export food to 
    52        the USA - the wealthiest."  So here we have ----- 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have that point.  But how does that help me
    55        in relation to the meaning in the respect we are dealing
    56        with?
    57
    58   MR. MORRIS:  Mr. Rampton went through the leaflet, picking out
    59        sections which he claimed gave the context; and I think
    60        that if people are going to read a section and you feel the

Prev Next Index