Day 053 - 22 Nov 94 - Page 09
1 you?
2
3 MS. STEEL: It is not just that if you eat enough McDonald's
4 food -----
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not trying to steer you into that, that
7 it means if you do accept that and if, at the end of the
8 day, that is what I thought it did mean, or something
9 similar, you would necessarily lose the case. I mean, we
10 have had a lot of evidence one way or another in relation
11 to that. It may be that on the heart disease side, for
12 instance, you have called evidence to that effect and that
13 McDonald's have not chosen to gainsay it. I am not saying
14 that will be my conclusion, but that could be a conclusion.
15
16 MS. STEEL: Basically, I do not think it is exclusively
17 referring to if it was just, you know, the scenario of "it
18 has to be you are eating McDonald's food all the time"; it
19 is about the contribution that McDonald's food makes to the
20 diet of a person, overall.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is really what I was trying to say.
23 That is why I described it as an intermediate position. It
24 is intermediate in two senses: that it would take account
25 of the fact that the word "diet" is used, and, in relation
26 to McDonald's, the word "meal" was used. So it is
27 modified; it is a modified meaning to this extent, that it
28 is the contribution of McDonald's meals to a diet which may
29 have that unsatisfactory result; and it is a modification
30 in this sense, that it does not mean you will get it, but
31 that you are taking a risk of suffering cancer or heart
32 disease.
33
34 MS. STEEL: To an extent, but it is also the fact that they are
35 saying that things like mass-produced chips, colas and
36 milkshakes are a useful part of a diet. Therefore, it is
37 not just theirs.
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I appreciate that. I am not talking about
40 what I will call the deceptive promotion element of any
41 meaning or allegation or evidence on one side or the other;
42 I am just on ----
43
44 MS. STEEL: We would submit that the effect of them promoting
45 this type of food as nutritious means that people, whether
46 or not they specifically eat McDonald's food, think that
47 that type of food is nutritious and, therefore, it is all
48 right for them to eat it in large quantities or frequently;
49 they do not need to worry about it.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not ignoring that, but I am focusing in
52 on what you started, really, to address me on and what
53 Mr. Rampton really restricted his submissions to yesterday
54 in so far as the amendment of F was concerned, which was
55 subparagraph 1. It may well be that he did not concentrate
56 on 2A and B because he thought they added nothing to what
57 was already in the original pleading; the deception was
58 always there. What the change is, is it not -- do you have
59 a copy of the draft amendment?
60
