Day 283 - 21 Oct 96 - Page 23
1
2 Through the admissions of McDonald's own witnesses in the
3 witness box, it is clear that McDonald's know that their
4 food is high in fat, salt and sugar, low in fibre and many
5 vitamins as well. And in terms of whether they portray
6 their food as nutritious, which is part of the fact sheet
7 case, deceptively, they have admitted that they portray
8 their food as nutritious. In fact, I think Robert Beavers
9 said that. We will come to that later in the transcript of
10 the evidence. They have had to defend that with the most
11 ludicrous line, which is nutritious means contains
12 nutrients. That is what, I think, Professor Wheelock
13 said. He is their nutritional consultant.
14
15 So, you know, I am not really being silly, I am not making
16 cheap points. I am trying to say that in terms of the
17 allegations of malice against us of distributing lies,
18 McDonald's themselves know the food is not nutritious, they
19 know they portray it as nutritious and they know they have
20 to think of a line of what that means if they are
21 challenged because they cannot defend it.
22
23 As regard the links between diet and disease, we have heard
24 that Professor Wheelock to a great extent accepted the link
25 between diet and disease is relevant in this case. And Dr.
26 Arnott admitted that the text of the London Greenpeace fact
27 sheet on that subject was a very reasonable thing to say if
28 directed to the public, which of course it was directed to
29 the public.
30
31 And as regards to what became a development during the
32 hearing about whether people eat at McDonald's more than
33 once in a blue moon, whether they are significant, which it
34 was not our case but now the meaning has been set down, we
35 have heard from Mr. Fairgrieve and David Green that
36 obviously a staggering number of people eat at McDonald's,
37 they do influence diet in general, but also some people eat
38 at McDonald's not only once a week, but two, three, four,
39 or five times a week and 6 percent of their staff were said
40 to be eating there, in the UK, I think every day of the
41 week.
42
43 We have also heard that something like three out of four of
44 all their customers going into their stores in the USA are
45 what they call heavy users, and that David Green, the head
46 of Marketing, said that that particular year he gave
47 evidence they were targeting those people to increase their
48 regularity. In their advertising campaign. I am sorry if
49 I am going a bit too fast.
50
51 MR JUSTICE BELL: No, that is all right. Since you have paused
52 anyway, I am anxious not to interrupt you while you are
53 giving the overview more than is necessary, but you were
54 going to give me in due course references to as many of
55 these as you can, are you, in case I have not got them
56 already.
57
58 MR. MORRIS: Yes, I am going to also run through the evidence
59 on each issue before, probably tomorrow or maybe this
60 afternoon. What I am trying to do here is say how they
