Day 048 - 08 Nov 94 - Page 35

     
     1        useful area to ask this witness about.  Whatever answer he
     2        gives, I have got to decide, have not I, in so far as it
     3        may be relevant to an issue?
     4
     5        I have heard all the evidence about what items of
     6        McDonald's food contains portions of fat, saturated fat,
     7        and everything of that kind.  If I may say so, I think you
     8        are questioning a witness about this who, time and time
     9        again, has said that he is not a nutritionist.  It appears
    10        to me that Mr. Hawkes does not know figures about
    11        percentage of calories provided by fat or saturated fat in
    12        a straight burger or a Big Mac or a cheeseburger.  He
    13        loyally holds the view that his company produces good food
    14        which can be part of a healthy diet, and he is entitled to
    15        that view.  How does it help pressing him about it?
    16
    17   MS. STEEL:  I was really asking about the advertising aspect of
    18        it and whether the company, you know, felt it was something
    19        important.
    20
    MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I will just make a suggestion, and then we
    22        will break off for lunch.  The kind of question you should
    23        ask is along the lines I suggested to Mr. Morris: "Have you
    24        had any kind of instructions or bulletins from on high as
    25        to the extent which, if at all, any ad should declare
    26        McDonald's food or particular products to be healthy, good,
    27        wholesome, or anything of that kind?"
    28
    29   MS. STEEL:  I was trying to move on to a specific thing that I
    30        wanted to ask about, actually.
    31
    32   MR. MORRIS:  Could he answer that last question, my Lord?
    33
    34        (To the witness)  Have you ever had any memos asking you to
    35        describe your food as healthy, or not to describe your food
    36        as healthy?
    37        A.  No.  It does not come into our thinking.
    38
    39   Q.   Have you had any memos which say that your department
    40        should have a responsibility to promote healthy eating in
         its advertising?
    42        A.  No memo or correspondence in that way, in terms of our
    43        advertising.  It depends what you mean by "advertising",
    44        because part of our communication is that, as you know from
    45        nutrition leaflets.  In terms of our advertising, no.
    46
    47   MS. STEEL:  That is not something that is a concern of your
    48        department at all, whether or not you have had any memo or
    49        correspondence?  Is your department concerned at all about
    50        using advertising in a constructive way to promote a 
    51        healthy diet? 
    52        A.  It is not the key strategy of our advertising, if you 
    53        like, to do that.  It is much more to do with reaching
    54        certain sales objectives.  We stand by the fact that we
    55        will not do anything that is illegal or breaks any code.
    56        It actually would be bad business for us to do so; it would
    57        just cause us more problems.
    58
    59   Q.   I am not talking about breaking codes, or whatever.  But
    60        does your department -- is it concerned at all about not