Day 287 - 25 Oct 96 - Page 03
1 their policies or may be breaching their policies, the only
2 certification that he had any knowledge of whatsoever is
3 what we have got in this court from Co-op Montecillos,
4 which is about five letters or something, all of which are
5 completely ambiguous. We would say, deliberately
6 ambiguous, because if that is the certification, then what
7 they were looking for obviously is a complete
8 incontrovertible contradiction to allegations that have
9 been made. So we would say that the ambiguity of the
10 letters is not a coincidence but it is a deliberate
11 avoidance of the facts. So that is what I say about that.
12
13 On day 222, this is the same thing he has dealt with on
14 page 44 of the transcript. On page 45 of that day, 222,
15 after he has talked about those letters and that he is
16 relying for his information on those suppliers and those
17 people, he then says about the definition of rainforest
18 which he has in his corporate policy statement was based
19 upon the same definition that he gave in court and that is
20 that he gives to his suppliers what they can and cannot
21 use. That is the top of page 45. So we would say that
22 offers no protection to 90 percent of the rainforest.
23
24 Then in their corporate rainforest policy, on day 225,
25 pages 29 and 30, he discusses what he meant. Well, he
26 gives evidence about what he meant when he made that
27 policy, about "using only locally produced and processed
28 beef in every country where we have restaurants". And then
29 he basically says on page 30 that he agrees with
30 hamburgers..." - that is to the UK -"...that because the
31 bought locally, the ingredients -- or the hamburgers were
32 locally, whatever -- that the ingredients were -- he said
33 many ingredients are sourced globally, but they go into
34 products that are produced locally. So, therefore, that
35 did not breach the policy." Question: "That was what the
36 policy meant. Is that what it means to you as well?"
37 Answer: "Yes".
38
39 So he agrees with Mr. Oakley that the policy only relates
40 to the finished products. Then he was asked: "So, as far
41 as you are concerned, this corporate policy statement is
42 guidelines?". And he said: "That is correct". So that is
43 further admission, we would say, of the worthlessness and
44 uselessness of that policy, even if it was carried out,
45 which we do not believe it is.
46
47 There are just a few more references relating to things we
48 discussed, we talked about, yesterday. In terms of Dr.
49 Gonzales, I did mention -- I am not sure if I brought the
50 references in yesterday. I am not sure if we are going to
51 need Dr. Gonzales.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have done that already.
54
55 MR. MORRIS: It must have been a nightmare.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not going to do it again, save insofar
58 as something you, Ms. Steel, Mr. Rampton or a question in
59 my own mind leads me to do so.
60