witness statements


name: Siegfried Pater
section: Environment
for: The Defence
experience: Third world expert

summary:

I am able to show the link between the expansion of the biggest fast food chain, the worldwide expanding corporation McDonald's (McD) and the escalation of the hunger in the world. Whereas in Brazil about half of the population suffers of hunger. Soya is not been sold or distributed to the people. But is for export where it will be fed to McDonald's cattle.

cv:


Author of the book 'McDonald's Beisst Grätig zu' (McDonald's Takes a Large Bite)

Producer of the film 'Der Soja-Komplex' (The Soya Bean Complex)(Westgertian Television, Koln).

Diplom Jungenieur (MSc Engineer) and agriculturist.

Expert on Brazil (2 years as development assistant and 16 long investigation journeys to Brazil).

Third world expert (over 20 book publications on the subject "The Third World").

Former member of the management committee of the German (3rd World) Development Agency*, Berlin.

Executive Board Member of the Zenrich-Boll-Foundation, Koln

Managing Director of the Bureau of Advice Concerning Latin America, Bonn.

Member of the Board of Directors of the Working Party "Learn and Help in Overseas", Bonn.

Founder Member of the Federal Congress for (3rd World) Development or political action groups*, Hamburg and others

Full cv:
Available for this witness

full statement:

I declare that I have proof relating to the following facts and I would like to substantiate this is court:

For these statements I have records, statements of affected people, comprehensive investigations.


Declaration

I am an expert in the stated problem areas and I would like to make the following statements:

As author of the book 'McDonald's Beisst Grätig zu' (McDonald's Takes a Large Bite) (Lamu (?) Publication, Göttingen) and as producer of the film 'Der Soja-Komplex' (The Soya Bean Complex)(Westgertian Television, Koln), as Diplom Jungenieur (MSc Engineer) and agriculturist, as an expert on Brazil (2 years as development assistant and 16 long investigation journeys to Brazil) I came to the conclusion, through observation in Brazil and Germany, to show how the consumption of McDonald's hamburgers destroys the tropical rainforest. In Germany McDonald's (McD) buys beef of farmers, who feed large amounts of soya bean from Brazil. I have traced back the soya bean food to Brazil. Soya bean is been planted on the former virgin forest soil of the Amazonas, but you can find it also in the South of Brazil. To cultivate these large areas of soya hundreds of thousands of small holders have to be resettled into the Amazonas, where thereafter they destroy the rainforest.

I have proof of those links and have put them forward in many discussions with McDonald's managers on radio and TV and on events of stage discussions. McDonald's could not so far credibly disprove these facts.

I would like to give evidence to those points (anti-trade unionist, damages of health through McDonald's products and others) in court.

supplemetary statement:




I would like to specify two problem areas in connection with McDonald's: As a third world expert (over 20 book publications on the subject "The Third World", former member of the management committee of the German (3rd World) Development Agency*, Berlin, Executive Board Member of the Zenrich-Boll-Foundation, Koln, Managing Director of the Bureau of Advice Concerning Latin America, Bonn, Member of the Board of Directors of the Working Party "Learn and Help in Overseas", Bonn, Founder Member of the Federal Congress for (3rd World) Development or political action groups*, Hamburg and others).

I am able to show the link between the expansion of the biggest fast food chain, the worldwide expanding corporation McDonlad's (McD) and the escalation of the hunger in the world. Whereas in Brazil about half of the population suffers of hunger. Soya has not been sold or distributed to the people. But is used for export where it will be fed to McD cattle.

Today in Brazil about 20% of the farmland is used for soya. According to a study from the university of Sao Paulo, Brazil these areas were used in earlier days to over 80% to produce food supplies like rice, beans, manjok. In those days, you needed 6-8 times the manpower: the direct consequence for the people in Brazil is starvation and unemployment. In Brazil and other countries of the Third World McDonald's also drives away the business of the small street vendors, who offer meals in the street, because in Brazil and other parts of the Third World McDonald's opens more and more branches, thousands of street vendors loose their business, many die of starvation.

Problem field: McDonald's is anti-trade unionists. I can prove that McD Germany has bullied and dismissed employees who were members of the trade union.

*These are names of associations - political groups which cannot be directly translated.

date signed: not dated
status: Statement read out in court
references: Not applicable/ available

exhibits: Not applicable/ available

related links:

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