Day 037 - 14 Oct 94 - Page 75
1 that 2,000 butchers shops close down every week. There
2 would have to be a huge number of butchers shops in the
3 country to enable 2,000 to close down each week.
4
5 Q. Can I ask a question which underlies that passage? In
6 your view, would it be a very good thing if all the
7 butcher shops in the country closed down?
8 A. A very good thing?
9
10 Q. Yes.
11 A. I would like to see -- I have always said this --
12 I would like to see butchers selling the products that
13 people want to buy.
14
15 Q. Sorry, you would like to see?
16 A. Selling the products that people want to buy, and in
17 the middle of this paragraph here, it does say -- I think
18 this is the thrust of Mr. Rampton's question -- "He does
19 not appear bothered by the effects of unemployment" etc.,
20 etc. That is not true, I am. I have always sought, you
21 know, to deal with this question as constructively as
22 possible.
23
24 In fact, I have given advice on occasion to butchers as to
25 how they should cope with changing food preferences and
26 the drift towards vegetarianism in this country and, you
27 know, I hope in no form am I antibusiness or anticommerce
28 at all. I believe in being as positive and as
29 constructive as possible. So, I am afraid that paragraph
30 is very misleading as far as my own views are concerned.
31
32 Q. Did you say to Mr. Thomas you would like to see every
33 slaughter house closed down and meat just a luxury
34 foodstuff consumed by very few people?
35 A. Again, you know, a dreadful amount of concertina-ing
36 has gone on here. I said that I would love to see every
37 slaughter house converted to tofu plant.
38
39 Q. Yes, exactly, or a veggie burger production?
40 A. Well, why not? The second part of your question which
41 was -- could you remind, please?
42
43 Q. No, I simply asked whether you told him you would love to
44 see all the slaughter houses closed?
45 A. No, there was a second part to it as well.
46
47 Q. We can look at our screens for that if it matters.
48 A. I have lost the quote, I am afraid.
49
50 Q. Yes, that is what is here, meat consumed as a luxury by
51 very few people?
52 A. If you enquire into the nature of paleolithic
53 nutrition, you will find that the best evidence you can
54 obtain from those scientists who have studied it does
55 suggest that that is the rightful position, amongst the
56 meat-eaters' at least, that is the rightful position of
57 meat in a diet, that it is actually a very scarce luxury
58 foodstuff. So, I suspect that is probably -----
59
60 Q. It may be so, Mr. Cox. We are no doubt grateful for your
