Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 05
1 last page to a repetition starting with McDollars,
repeating McDeadly and McCancer. My Lord, I will, if
2 I may, approach the leaflet in this way, so as to save
time in part, read the leaflet to your Lordship but, as
3 I do so, indicate to your Lordship which are the
statements of fact in the leaflet which the plaintiffs say
4 are unarguably false here. I will also suggest to your
Lordship, should it be necessary, what McDonald's say is
5 the implication of this or that passage.
6 My Lord, it starts on the first inside page:
7 "This leaflet is asking you to think for a moment about
what lies behind McDonald's clean, bright image. It's got
8 a lot to hide.
9 "'At McDonald's we've got time for you' goes the jingle.
Why then do they design the service so that you're in and
10 out as soon as possible? Why is it so difficult to relax
in a McDonald's? Why do you feel hungry again so soon
11 after eating a Big Mac?
12 We're all subject to the pressures of stupid advertising,
consumerist hype, and the fast pace of big city life - but
13 it doesn't take any special intelligence to start asking
questions about McDonald's and to realise that something
14 is seriously wrong.
15 The more you find out about McDonald's processed food, the
less attractive it becomes, as this leaflet will show.
16 The truth about hamburgers is enough to put you off them
for life".
17
Subheading in bold with a blob: "What is the connection
18 between McDonald's and starvation in the 'Third World'?
There is no point feeling guilty about eating while
19 watching starving African children on T.V. If you do send
money to Band Aid, or shop at Oxfam, etc., that's morally
20 good but politically useless. It shifts the blame from
governments and does nothing to challenge the power of
21 multi-national corporations".
22 Subhead in capitals: "Hungry for Dollars. McDonald's is
one of several giant corporations with investments in vast
23 tracts of land in poor countries, sold to them by the
dollar-hungry rulers (often military) and privileged
24 elites".
25 Pausing there, my Lord, every single word of that
statement is totally false; it has always been false and
26 it remains false to this day. Then, as a prejudicial
appendage to that false proposition, one finds this:
27 "Evicting the small farmers that live there growing food
for their own people.
28
The power of the US dollar means that in order to buy
29 technology and manufactured goods, poor countries are
trapped into producing more and more food for export to
30 the States. Out of 40 of the world's poorest countries,
36 export food to the USA - the wealthiest."
