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Manager of Meat Products in the International Quality Assurance/International Purchasing Department of McDonald's Corporation and has served in this position for just over two years.
Went to the Texas A & M University where he graduated with a BSc in Animal Engineering.
Also has an MSc in Agronomy and a PhD in Food Science and Technology both from Texas A & M.
Has worked for Oscar Mayer, also has experience working in the meat industry in Asia, Latin America, the U.S., Europe and Canada.
1. I make this supplementary statement in response to the allegations which the Defendants make concerning food poisoning and the rearing of pigs, chicken and cattle.
2. As I described in my first statement, I am a member of McDonald's Corporation's Quality Assurance Department, whose job it is to ensure the uniform quality of the meat products used by all McDonald's Restaurants. This also includes ensuring the safety of those products.
3. The practices and procedures we have in place to ensure the safety and quality of our products come under three headings, namely (1) the monitoring of suppliers; (2) the monitoring of hygiene standards in the distribution process by way of a quality inspection programme and (3) the monitoring of standards in the restaurants.
4. I have read the statement of Keith Kenny and can confirm that the practices and procedures which he describes under these three headings are the same in both the USA and the other countries in which McDonald's operates, apart from certain minor variations to take account of local regulations.
5. Turning to the subject of the rearing and slaughter of animals, I have read the Defendant's allegations that the rearing of cattle, chicken and pigs for McDonald's involves unnecessary cruelty and suffering. From my own observations and experience, I would deny that this allegation is true.
6. On the question of the rearing of chicken and pigs, I have read the statement of Dr. Neville Gregory and can confirm that the methods of rearing described by him at the farms he visited are very similar to those used in the USA and in many other countries I have visited.
7. Turning to the rearing of cattle, generally cattle are raised in grass pastures for the first 2/3 years in the USA, or slightly longer in other countries. During this time animals are kept in large grassland areas. Depending on market conditions or owner practices the cattle will then be sent to slaughterhouse or feed lots to be grain fed where they will be kept for approximately 100 days to increase their weight and the quality of the meat.
8. Much research has taken place over the last 100 years to improve the efficiency of cattle production and the methods in use today are science based ones which consider all aspects, including nutrition, environment, genetics, feeding, animal welfare and customer needs. If the requirements in any of these categories are not met then it will result in a negative impact on the suppliers profits.
9. The practices of the cattle industry today reflect what has been learned regarding optimum space, transportation, fooding practices, preventative medicine and slaughtering. It is necessary for animals to be kept in peak condition otherwise they will not gain weight and the best genetically fit animals even with optimum environmental conditions and fooding will not gain weight if they are constantly under stress. Further, any cattle which are diseased do not enter the food chain and those which are bruised are down graded immediately by Federal Inspectors in the plants and the damaged parts are not used for human consumption. Consequently is it in the supplier's best interests to ensure his cattle are reared and kept in good conditions.
| date signed: |
1/11/94
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| status: |
Appeared in court
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exhibits: Not applicable/ available
transcripts of court appearances:
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