name:

Michael Crawford

qualifications:

PhD, FIBiol, CBiol.

occupation:

Director of the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for Children, London

relevance:

Health and Nutrition Expert

previous experience:

1/ In 1981 Michael Crawford was appointed to a Special Chair at the University of Nottingham in the Department of Human Biochemistry and Nutrition.

2/ Since 1960 Michael Crawford's research programme has focused on the relationship between nutrition and disease. Over this period he has published over 200 scientific communications on topics ranging from intestinal disorders to cancer, heart disease and fetal/neonatal brain development.

3/ Following the Royal College of Physicians report on diet and coronary heart disease in 1974, Michael Crawford became a founder member and honorary secretary of the Coronary Prevention Group.

4/ Michael Crawford was the World Health Organisation (WHO) consultant to the FAO/WHO Conjoint Expert Consultation on the Role of Dietary Fats and Oils in Human Nutrition. He was also the raporteur for the report which was published in 1978.

5/ Michael Crawford was a member of the Task Force of the British Nutrition Foundation on dietary unsaturated fats, the publication for which, appeared in June 1992.

6/ During April-May 1993 Michael Crawford acted as a WHO consultant to provide advice to the Indonesian Government on nutrition related disease.

quotes:

During my visit to Indonesia and Malaysia this spring, deep concern was being publicly experessed by health workers, that this had already happened: diabetes and heary disease were appearing as a new health problem. The high profile Western foods and fast foods outlets such as McDonald's, is seen as playing a significant part in the introduction of these diseases which are new to these parts of the world.

I concur with the statement in the disputed leaflet that a 'diet high in fat, sugar, animal products and salt (sodium) and low in fibre' is considered to be linked to cancers of the breast, bowel and heart disease on the assumption that the phrase 'animal products' is taken to mean products from conventional farm mammals. A McDonald's meal is likely to fit the above description.