Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 25


     
     1        they are still conscious.  Then "Ruining your health".
              All the old allegations in fact here, even slightly
     2        guilded, that were in the leaflet because one sees it is
              now said that the food is also full of chemical additives
     3        to disguise the awful taste which it is estimated caused
              1300 cancer deaths per year in Britain.
     4
              If people were to take that to heart and tell it to their
     5        friends and their children all over the world, McDonald's
              would go out of business within a very short time indeed.
     6
              Then, my Lord, exploiting their workers in the right hand
     7        column, again the reference is to anti-Trade Unionism --
              perhaps not the most serious allegation in the case anyway
     8         -- but a very serious allegation that most workers are
              under 21 and black; people with little chance in finding
     9        alternative jobs, an endless source of cheap labour;
              followed in the next paragraph by a repetition of the word
    10        "Exploitation".
 
    11        My Lord, an important consideration at the bottom of that
              page -- this appears repeatedly throughout the defendants'
    12        material -- "no copyright; use this to make your own
              leaflet".
    13
              My Lord, with that leaflet on that day, 16th October 1990,
    14        was distributed a number of other documents, including one
              which your Lordship will find another three pages on.
    15        Again in considering the question of whether these
              defendants' denials of responsibility for the leaflet
    16        complained of are to be accepted and the question of what
              further poison will they emit in the future if they are
    17        not restrained by injunction is, your Lordship may think,
              an important document.
    18
              It is headed:  "McLibel Five Support Campaign" with
    19        symbolic drawings at the top.  Then it says: "Nearly six
              years ago London Greenpeace initiated campaign against the
    20        giant fastfood multinational McDonald's.  Since then we
              have called for  only October 16 United Nations World Food
    21        Day to be a world day of action against McDonald's and the
              response has been truly staggering.  Groups throughout the
    22        world campaigning against environmental destruction and
              for human and animal rights and food  have joined the
    23        battle against the hamburger society.
 
    24        McDonald's have clearly been adversely affected by the
              campaign and have tried to counter it by making legal
    25        threats against organisations campaigning against them.
              They knew that most of these groups are extremely small 
    26        and would not be able to afford a costly court case. Hence 
              they have to apologise to McDonald's and make an out of 
    27        court settlement, even when they have told the truth.  Now
              they [that is McDonald's] have resorted to serving writs
    28        on five members", and I stress the words "members", "of
              London Greenpeace, Paul Gravett, Helen Steel, Andrew
    29        Clarke, Dave Morris, and Jonathan O'Farrell.  They are
              claiming damages for libel for the leaflet 'What's Wrong
    30        with McDonald's?' which has been used all over the world.
 

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