Day 286 - 24 Oct 96 - Page 35


     
     1
     2        So, the fact that they are suppliers to McDonald's does not
     3        mean that they are independent; quite the opposite, they
     4        are not independent witnesses, especially on an issue like
     5        this that that directly goes to their own reputations.
     6
     7        Let me see if there is anything else on Costa Rica.
     8        (Pause) I mean, for the references of that last point,
     9        Donald Monroe says, "About 70 percent of the meat processed
    10        in our plants is intended for the production of fast food,
    11        mainly as hamburgers, minced meat and similar product.
    12        About 95 percent of our output goes to the United States.
    13        It is the largest meat factory in Costa Rica".  That is
    14        Gisa.  And Arturo Woolf has worked not only in Costa Rica
    15        in this chain of causation of destruction of tropical and
    16        rainforest, but he had also worked in the United States at
    17        the other end of that chain at Standard Meats, which
    18        imported beef from Costa Rica.
    19
    20        In terms of the point I made before about Brazil, which
    21        relates to Costa Rica as well, that the raw material...
    22        Well, the point I made before about the inter-connection
    23        between the company's local supplies and export supplies,
    24        that Co-op Montecillos is supplying McDonald's in Costa
    25        Rica and in the same complex at Baranca they have an export
    26        division, and therefore it is just...  Well, it is just the
    27        same point I made before about Morganti and the supplies he
    28        was responsible for.
    29
    30        Charles Secrett commented about Costa Rica as well, and his
    31        conclusion, expert conclusion, on this subject was the only
    32        realistic conclusion, given the circumstances operating at
    33        the time is that during the '70s and much of the '80s, beef
    34        and cattle reared on recently deforested tropical land in
    35        countries like Costa Rica was used by all the major fast
    36        food retailers in the US including McDonald's, and that
    37        McDonald's had failed to satisfy him to the contrary or
    38        produced, in fact, any documentary evidence to the
    39        contrary.
    40
    41        Mr. Woolf said, during his evidence, day 226, page 47 line
    42        24.  Question:  "Cattle industry has only experienced a
    43        boom in the last 30 years after the land became
    44        deforested", and so on.  Wait a minute, sorry, I had better
    45        get the references and find out exactly what was said.
    46        (Pause) I have nearly finished the Costa Rica submission.
    47
    48   MR JUSTICE BELL:  Page 47, line 24.
    49
    50   MR. MORRIS:   Thank you.  Yes.  I was putting some, some text to 
    51        him.  No, I can't remember exactly what this was now, but 
    52        it does not matter.  Let me just check.  Yes.  "The cattle 
    53        industry has only experienced a boom in the last 30 years
    54        after the lands became deforested", and so on.  "Before
    55        that there was only dairy farming in the mountains".  I put
    56        to him, "OK".  Then he said, "There is something missing in
    57        that statement."  You said to him, "If you agree that it is
    58        true what is there, 'I want to say, yes, that is true,
    59        but...', please do so."  Answer, "OK, that is true, but
    60        there have been several booms throughout Costa Rica,

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