McLibel
posted
to www.marxmail.org on
Scheduled for release in
The odds were against the defendants from the beginning.
British libel laws are considered plaintiff-friendly since the words of the
defendant are considered false until proven otherwise. In the case of Helen
Steel and Dave Morris, the words were those found in a 1986 brochure that can
be read here: http://www.mcspotlight.org/case/pretrial/factsheet.html.
(More about this website momentarily.)
McDonald's had taken advantage of British libel laws to
intimidate any news outlet that aired unfavorable reports. If a newspaper or TV
station would say 'mea culpa,' the libel suit would be withdrawn. So, for
example, Channel 4 television apologized in High Court for a 1990 program
implying that McDonald's was responsible for rainforest destruction in
Besides being hampered by British libel laws, they were at a
disadvantage in how they were to be represented at court. Legal aid was only
available for criminal cases, so they had to scuffle around to find legal
defense. Meanwhile, McDonald's paid twenty million dollars for its legal team
and lined up dozens of "expert witnesses" cut from the same cloth as
those who used to testify that smoking cigarettes was harmless. Eventually, the
two defendants secured the pro bono services of Attorney Keir
Starmer and lined up their own expert witnesses, who
are interviewed throughout the film.
Another disadvantage was that the judge decided to make this
a jury-less trial. This meant that the two rather plebian defendants (Helen
Steel was a gardener and busdriver, Dave Morris a
postman) were at the mercy of an upper-class judge.
One of their most powerful witnesses was Howard Lyman, a
former cattle rancher who had grown disgusted with the treatment of animals in
this highly commodified food-chain and the
consequences of commercial farming on his own health and the consumer. After
developing a tumor on his spine that he was convinced was brought on by
chemical additives on his land, he changed his life radically. He became a
vegan and an outspoken critic of industrial ranching. In addition to his role
as a witness at the McLibel's trial, he was a guest
on Oprah Winfrey's TV show where he warned about the dangers of Mad Cow
disease. Information about Howard Lyman's book "The Mad Cowboy" and a
documentary based on his life can be seen at: http://www.madcowboy.com/
Even though he was not a witness, Eric Schlosser, author of
"Fast Food Nation," is heard throughout the documentary. Schlosser is
clearly grounded in a class analysis. His critique of McDonald's focuses on the
corporate drive to maximize profit without concern for the environment, the
consumer or the worker. In an excerpt from his book on the McSpotlight
website, we learn how Burger King, another fast food giant, gets its strawberry
milkshake to taste just right:
"A typical artificial strawberry flavour,
such as that found in a Burger King strawberry milk shake, contains the
following ingredients: amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate,
anethol, anisyl formate, benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate,
butyric acid, cinnamyl isobutyrate,
cinnamyl valerate, cognac
essential oil, diacetyl, dipropyl
ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone,
ethyl butyrate, ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethlyl lactate, ethyl methylphenylglycidate,
ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate, heliotropin, hydroxyphenyl-2-butonone (10% solution in
alcohol), a-ionone, isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl
butyrate, lemon essential oil, maltol,
4-methylactophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl
benzoate, methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl
ketone, methyl salicylate,
mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin, neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenethyl alcohol, rose, rum ether, g-undecalactone,
vanillin and solvent."
Based solely on the strength of their testimony and that of
the expert witnesses, Steel and Morris wound up with a partial victory. They
were forced to pay 40 thousand pounds for certain "libelous" charges
they had made, but not others. Immediately after the verdict was announced,
Steel and Morris held a press conference announcing that they would rather go
to jail than pay a penny to McDonald's. Publicity surrounded the trial amounted
to a PR disaster for the fast food giant. Not only did they back off from collecting
their libel award, they decided not to press forward with an injunction against
further leafleting in front of their stores.
On
The film ends on a triumphant note on February 15th of this
year, when the McLibel two received an email
notification that the
Indeed, the Internet was critical to this entire campaign.
The film shows the two deliberating on how to get their message out when the
corporate media was obviously intent on keeping their anti-corporate message to
the margins. In 1996 they hit upon the idea of setting up a website, which is
one of the more important environmental resources on the Internet.
Although "Super Size Me" garnered excellent and
well-deserved reviews (and is referred to briefly in "McLibel"),
I found "McLibel" to be a more compelling
and useful film. Unlike Morgan Spurlock, Helen Steel and Dave Morris are less
intent on being "personalities." With their self-effacing and sincere
manner, they put the focus on getting out the truth rather than striking
dramatic poses. They are the quintessential activists of the 1990s who came
into prominence as part of the anti-globalization movement. With their emphasis
on democratic control and harmony between humanity and nature, they make the
case for abolition of private property without ever resorting to dogmatic
formulations. The Marxist left can surely learn from such activists.
"McLibel" was directed
by Fanny Armstrong with help from legendary British director Ken Loach, who was
responsible for dramatic reenactments of the trial. For screening information
in the