Day 016 - 22 Jul 94 - Page 14
1 normal level.
A. I apologise. All I am saying is that there is
2 evidence which indicates that we have a serious health
problem here and now with a certain sector of the
3 population, and that this is occurring because they are
being advised and encouraged to switch to vegetarianism.
4 What I am saying ---
5 MS. STEEL: One study?
A. -- what I am saying to you is that if you are
6 criticising ----
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Who is advising them and encouraging them?
A. The point I am making -----
8
Q. It may just be a number of girls of a certain age; one or
9 two schools might think it would be a good idea to try
vegetarianism?
10 A. It is very widespread. I know there is campaigning
going on in schools.
11
Q. We are talking about this article at the moment.
12 A. This article is an indication of what is happening in
schools in this country at the present time, and it seems
13 to me that if McDonald's is being criticised on
hypothetical grounds, that people advocating vegetarianism
14 also need to be very careful in the way in which they put
forward their ideas; equally, if they are not advising the
15 people that they are advocating vegetarianism to, to have
a healthy balanced diet with a variety of foods, then they
16 are equally being irresponsible. That is all.
17 MS. STEEL: You are basing this on one study. We have seen
lots of studies that are not hypothetical situations where
18 people with cancer have been compared with control groups
and they have been asked about what they have eaten.
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. You have criticised those studies. Why are you placing
reliance on one study?
21 A. I am not placing heavy reliance. What I am pointing
out is that it is providing evidence which is consistent
22 with what we know about the dietary, about the composition
of the different foods in the diet. And if meat is a
23 major source of iron in the diet and people stop eating
it, which seems to be what is happening, without making
24 corresponding changes in their diet, then it is perfectly
sound and reasonable to expect that they will suffer from
25 an iron deficiency.
26 Q. You know full well, do you not, that meat is not the only
source of iron in the diet?
27 A. I do.
28 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He has, in effect, said that.
29 MS. STEEL: I shall just draw something else to your
attention: I do not think this study says anywhere that
30 these people, these school children, were actually
vegetarians as opposed to just not eating meat because
