Fw: [McLibel] McDonald's/Vegetarian Lawsuit 'Settlement' Controversy Continues

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Monday, January 13, 2003 6:06 PM

[McLibel] McDonald's/Vegetarian Lawsuit 'Settlement' Controversy

Continues

 

 

> McDonald's/Vegetarian Lawsuit 'Settlement' Controversy Continues

>

> 1. Lawyer hits McD on suit settlement process [Chicago Sun Times]

> 2. McDonald's Attacks Vegetarian Leaders [www.vegsource.com]

> 3. Vegetarians Challenge McDonald's Payout

> --------

--

>

> Lawyer hits McD on suit settlement process

> January 10, 2003

> BY SANDRA GUY Business Reporter - Chicago Sun Times

>

> McDonald's Corp.'s efforts to settle a lawsuit over its misrepresentation

> of animal-fat content in french fries and hash browns are running afoul of

> the very people the settlement was meant to appease. McDonald's agreed in

> June to donate $10 million to Hindu, vegetarian and other groups to settle

> lawsuits filed against the Oak Brook fast-food chain for mislabeling

french

> fries and hash browns as vegetarian. The vegetable oil used to prepare the

> fries and hash browns was not pure but contained essence of beef for

> flavoring.

>

> The list of more than 20 groups that McDonald's proposes to receive the

$10

> million has outraged the lawyer and the plaintiffs in the original suit,

> who contend the groups oppose Hindu, vegetarian and animal-rights values.

> McDonald's was first sued over the french fries by three vegetarians,

> including two Hindus who for religious reasons do not eat meat.

>

> Harish Bharti, the Seattle attorney who filed the original lawsuit on May

> 1, 2001, does not oppose the $10 million settlement itself. But he accused

> McDonald's of initially trying to pressure him to keep the settlement

> secret from his clients and to keep the list secret from groups that asked

> if they were on it. He objected.

> Bharti also said the other " copycat " lawyers who joined the lawsuit worked

> in league with McDonald's. The copycat lawyers have been fired by their

> clients, who are vegetarians and Hindus who filed lawsuits in Texas and

> Illinois, he said.

>

>

> " I have been fighting [McDonald's and the other lawyers] to maintain my

> ethics, " said Bharti, who described himself in a telephone interview as a

> Hindu Brahmin who is committed to following the religion's teachings.

> McDonald's Corp. issued a statement late Thursday calling the settlement

> process " a fair and open-door process directed by the court. "

>

> " All interested parties had an equal opportunity to participate in the

> discussions and deliberations, including Mr. Bharti, " according to the

> statement. " He also was apprised of the proposed recipient list. "

> " McDonald's is committed to following the court's direction, " according to

> the statement.

> Bharti is asking Cook County Circuit Court Judge Richard Siebel to remove

> McDonald's and all lawyers, including himself, from the settlement process

> and to appoint an independent special master or group to decide which

> groups should receive the settlement money.

>

> " No one should be rejected because they stood up against McDonald's, "

> Bharti said.

> He said McDonald's has ignored his recommendations about groups that

> deserve money from the settlement.

>

> Vegetarian and animal-rights groups also object to McDonald's list of

> recipient groups and researchers.

> Officials with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are

> fighting a proposed grant to a researcher at the University of North

> Carolina at Chapel Hill who it says wants to use money to promote

> anti-vegetarian diets. Steve Zeisel, the researcher, wants to use his

share

> of the settlement to study whether women on strict vegetarian diets get

> enough of the nutrient choline, which is abundant in eggs, during

> pregnancy, according to PETA.

>

> " The money is supposed to be earmarked for vegetarian groups, " said Hannah

> Schein, a research associate for Norfolk, Va.-based PETA. " He (Zeisel)

> doesn't represent a vegetarian group. If anything, he recommends that

> pregnant women not be vegetarian. "

>

> McDonald's originally responded to the lawsuits by saying it never claimed

> the french fries it sells in the United States are vegetarian. But

> McDonald's apologized for any confusion surrounding the use of beef

> flavoring.

>

> McDonald's is supposed to distribute $6 million to vegetarian

> organizations, $2 million to Hindu or Sikh groups, and the remaining money

> to help better feed children and to promote understanding of Jewish kosher

> practices.

>

> The next hearing in the case takes place Monday in Chicago.

>

> --------

--

>

> McDonald's Attacks Vegetarian Leaders

> (in cahoots with copycat lawyers)

> by Jeff Nelson

>

> http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/mcdonalds_lawsuit2.htm

>

> Monday, Jan. 6, 2003

> LOS ANGELES -- Vegetarians sued McDonald's for not disclosing that their

> " vegetarian " French fries actually contained beef. In response, McDonald's

> apologized and agreed to make a $6 million donation to non-profit

> vegetarian organizations. At least that's what McDonald's said and agreed

> in writing it would do.

>

> Now McDonald's has filed a brief asking the judge in the matter not to

> hold them to their promise, but to instead allow them to give the money to

> non-vegetarian and anti-vegetarian organizations -- and to " vegetarian

> organizations " whose nutritionists recommend meat, chicken, fish and

shrimp.

>

> And in response to the many beloved bestselling vegetarian authors,

medical

> doctors and leaders who have petitioned the court not to permit McDonald's

> to subvert the settlement agreement, McDonald's -- along with the lawyers

> supposedly representing vegetarians -- attack these esteemed individuals,

> telling the judge they are all disgruntled " zealous radicals " motivated by

> " greed. "

>

> In our original article called Sleeping With the Enemy (sent out on the

> McLibel list earlier), VegSource previously covered this scandal in

detail.

> In short, McDonald's -- with the support of the " copycat " plaintiff

> attorneys who were fired by their vegetarian clients -- is attempting to

> steer much of the settlement money they explicitly agreed would go to

> " vegetarian organizations . . . dedicated to the values of vegetarianism "

> -- instead to organizations which are hostile to vegetarianism.

>

> The most recent developments show McDonald's and the copycat attorneys

> filing large briefs full of personal insults and name-calling against

> esteemed vegetarian leaders like John Robbins, Michael Klaper MD, John

> McDougall MD, T. Colin Campbell PhD, Alex Hershaft PhD, Mark Epstein,

> Joanne Stepaniak, Jack Norris, Matt Ball, Gene and Lorri Bauston, Stanley

> Sapon PhD and many others.

>

> First McDonald's lied by saying their fries contained no beef, now they're

> trying to betray vegetarians a second time, by reneging on their promise

to

> donate money to vegetarian groups. They argue to the court they should be

> able to give this money instead to non-vegetarian and even anti-vegetarian

> organizations, so long as those organizations merely promise to do

> " vegetarian research " with the money.

>

>

> The only support in the vegetarian community that McDonald's and the

> copycat lawyers were able to present to the court comes from the

Vegetarian

> Resource Group (VRG). VRG submitted the only declaration in support of the

> proposal, even endorsing the money earmarked to go to the anti-vegetarian

> animal researcher at University of North Carolina -- a researcher who

seeks

> to prove his personal hypothesis that the vegan diet is very unsafe for

> pregnant women, who need to eat eggs when pregnant in order to get

> sufficient choline. (This is the same animal researcher who usually does

> research supported by the Egg Board -- who VRG supports.) If the

McDonald's

> proposal is approved, VRG stands to receive $1.4 million from it.

>

> Elie Wiesel is often quoted as saying, " Take sides, neutrality helps the

> oppressor, never the victim. " Another oft' repeated line is: " Silence is

> consent. " Unfortunately, the North American Vegetarian Society (NAVS) --

> which stands to receive $1 million if this corrupt McDonald's allocation

> goes through -- decided to remain silent and not use their special

position

> in the matter to raise questions, or to educate the judge to help prevent

a

> miscarriage of justice. NAVS is well aware that anti-vegetarian groups

will

> benefit if this proposal goes through. I guess for some it's easier to

look

> the other way when vegetarianism is getting mugged -- especially when the

> mugger is giving you a share.

>

> It's one thing to claim to be an " ethical " vegetarian; but actions speak

> far louder than words. Let us hope that McDonald's and VRG -- as well as

> NAVS and any other organization with special position which chose silence

> over ethics -- do not succeed in deceiving the judge into approving this

> corrupt proposal.

>

> --------

--

>

>

http://story.news./news?tmpl=story2cid=509 & u=/ap/20030110/ap_on_bi

> _ge/mcdonald_s_vegetarians_1printer=1

>

> Vegetarians Challenge McDonald's Payout

> Fri Jan 10,11:38 AM ET

> By RICHARD GIBSON, Dow Jones Newswires

>

> DES MOINES, Iowa - Some vegetarians, including the lead lawyer in the

> matter, are challenging how McDonald's Corp. will distribute $10 million

> to settle the mislabeling case involving beef-flavored french fries.

>

> n Illinois Circuit Court judge in Chicago is to hear arguments next Monday

> on who should receive the money and why.

>

> The Seattle attorney who brought the original lawsuit against the

fast-food

> giant, Harish Bharti, said he will object to the company's list of

proposed

> recipients in part because the selection process had been " rigged, "

> favoring those who either don't represent the majority of vegetarians or

> who are sympathetic to McDonald's.

>

> " I am deeply concerned that the funds not be allocated to a relatively

> small number of interest groups determined by ... lawyers with personal

> preferences or prejudices unrelated to the actual needs and concerns

> of the class members, " Bharti said in a brief.

>

> Bharti wants the court to appoint an impartial third party to draw up a

> new recipients' list.

>

> Objections to the settlement distribution also have been filed by the

> operator of a Web site for vegetarians, VegSource.com. Jeffrey A.

> Nelson contends some would-be recipients are " in fact anti-vegetarian. "

>

> Some, Nelson said, had publicly opposed bringing a class-action lawsuit

> against McDonald's for representing its fries and hash browns as being

> vegetarian when they were, in fact, cooked in beef-flavored oils.

>

> To settle the matter, McDonald's, based in Oak Brook, Ill., issued an

> apology and agreed to pay $10 million - 60 percent to vegetarian groups,

> 20 percent to Hindu and/or Sikh organizations, 10 percent to children's

> nutrition and hunger relief efforts and 10 percent to those promoting the

> understanding of Kosher foods and dietary practices.

>

> Besides various vegetarian groups, three universities - Tufts, Loma Linda

> in California and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - would

> divide $1.3 million, according to the list before the court.

>

> Responding to complaints over the choice of recipients, McDonald's filed a

> brief saying that some complaints are " substantive but many ... fall into

> the category of petty gripes or sour grapes over not receiving funds ...

> When distributing a large sum of money, it is impossible to please every

> potential grant recipient or interested party, " the company said.

>

> Of Nelson's complaint, McDonald's said in the brief that it " reflects

> intramural squabbling within the vegetarian community about tactics for

> achieving vegetarian aims. "

>

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