Day 273 - 03 Jul 96 - Page 33
1 reading it anyway that may not be a problem.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Use a copy of mine because I can remember it
4 perfectly well. Do not put it in the folder because I will
5 ask for it back.
6 A. (Same handed) Thank you.
7
8 Q. It has got some underlinings on it but they do not disclose
9 the secret of the--
10
11 MR. MORRIS: Supplementary statement by Veggies Limited. March
12 3rd, 1994. "Our earlier statement ronald mcdonald's
13 versus Reggie the Veggie" -- actually I did not read that
14 bit out last time -- "made on the 21st October 1993 details
15 the threat of libel action made by McDonald's Corporation
16 against Veggies Limited in 1987. The statement explained
17 that Veggies limited was forced to make "correction and
18 apology" accepting that there was "no specific evidence
19 concerning the connection of McDonald's and the raising of
20 beef on former rainforests."
21
22 "Our statement also explained that we understood
23 McDonald's had subsequently admitted that they had used
24 beef from ex-rainforest areas and that Veggies Limited had,
25 in 1988, been pressed by McDonald's to make a statement
26 that was not true. We were therefore very concerned when
27 one of our researchers, Laura Waters, drew our attention to
28 the attached document "tropical rainforest" (reference
29 Envrain.Pm4/September 92) that she had received from
30 McDonald's in January 1994, in which they repeated the
31 false claim that they had no connection with the use of
32 ex-rainforest lands."
33
34 Can I just say that that material can be found in the
35 statement of Laura Waters which we did not need to read out
36 because it was accepted that it was a true document from
37 McDonald's, dated September '92 and handed out in 1994.
38
39 "Also attached is an extract from the transcript of a
40 debate broadcast on the campus radio station at
41 Loughborough University on the 8th December 1993 in which
42 Michael Matthews, McDonald's United Kingdom Director of
43 Quality, again repeated the assertion that McDonald's had
44 "never used rainforest beef anywhere in (McDonald's)
45 stores in central and South America". We believe..."
46
47 Can I just say about that -- well, I will come to that
48 in a minute. "We believe that the "correction and apology"
49 that Veggies Limited were forced to make in 1987 and the
50 statement made by Michael Matthews in December 1993 were
51 intended to bring into disrepute the educational work of
52 Veggies Limited. We also believe it to be very dishonest
53 for McDonald's to deceive the public by continuing to
54 circulate false statements concerning their use of
55 ex-rainforest beef. This supplement dated March 3rd 1994",
56 and that is your signature it?
57 A. Yes, it is.
58
59 Q. And you stand by that statement?
60 A. Yes, I do.
