The burger court: McDonald's gets McNasty.

Casual observers of the trial English critic Auberon Waugh calls "the best free entertainment in London" can be forgiven for thinking that the so-called "McLibel" trial has something to do with Greenpeace, since it is members of a group called London Greenpeace who are in the dock. But in this British version of the O.J. case -- the longest-running libel trial in English history -- the defendants are simply admirers of Greenpeace's form of direct action. They knew the name carried weight and decided to appropriate it for themselves. Greenpeace, which is sympathetic to the cause, looks on in amused tolerance.

In 1989, a pair of "unwaged" dissidents named Dave Morris and Helen Steel stood on a London street handing out a six-page "London Greenpeace" leaflet called "What's Wrong With McDonald's." It accused the American McDonald's corporation (which has 580 outlets on English shores) of abusing its workers, producing unhealthy food and destroying "vast areas of Central American rainforest" to raise its beef. The leaflet wasn't unusual -- many other activist groups have passed out similar ones. But this time, McDonald's wasn't taking the abuse lightly; it sued for libel, in a country where ifs significantly easier to prove in court that one's good name has been unfairly maligned. Steel and Morris are now known as the "McLibel Two."

The trial has taken so long because, in England, libel defendants have to prove that what they said (or, in this case, handed out) was actually true. And that means a steady stream of expert defense witnesses in an effort to prove that McDonald's is, in fact, a corporate scourge.

All this testimony has produced some fascinating revelations. The owner of a key McDonald's supplier, for instance, reportedly testified that his company supplied Brazilian beef for the British market after a McDonald's edict banning such sales. (According to a letter from a British McDonald's supplier, the internal order followed a complaint to McDonald's by Prince Phillip, who doubles as president of the World Wildlife Fund, that McDonald's was "tearing down the Brazilian rainforests and breeding cattle.")

There was a most enlightening exchange involving the McDonald's claim, cited in its widely available "Nutrition Guide," that "every time you eat at McDonald's you'll eat good nutritious food." According to McDonald's executives who testified in London, "nutritious" simply means that the food people ate "contained nutrients" -- as does all food everywhere.

McDonald's own cancer expert, Dr. Sidney Arnott, testified that a statement in the offending leaflet claiming that "a diet high in fat, sugar, animal products and salt and low in fiber, vitamins and minerals is linked with cancer..." was "a very reasonable thing to say" to the public. This testimony reportedly led McDonald's to amend its original complaint -- the company is now asking the defendants to prove that "McDonald's sells meals which cause cancer in their customers."

The defendants also dug out a priceless statement from Geoff Giuliano, the actor who was the original Ronald McDonald: "I brainwashed youngsters into doing wrong. I want to say sorry to children everywhere for selling out to concerns who make millions by murdering animals."

In May, at the McDonald's stockholders' meeting Chicago, CEO Michael Quinlan was grilled about the case and urged to bring it to a speedy conclusion. "Rumors are flying that McDonald's is planning to withdraw its case against the defendants," says the U.S. McLibel Support Campaign. Could that be true? At McDonald's corporate headquarters in Chicago, they're maintaining a very low profile on the whole business, referring all calls to Mike Love in the London office. Efforts to reach Love were unavailing, but he told the London Independent that the company is "not seeking a way out of the case. We're confident of the strength of our case..."

The defendants are reportedly ready to settle for a charity donation and a simple statement that McDonald's won't pursue such libel actions against anyone else in Britain.

Contact: The U.S. McLibel Support Committee, P.O. Box 62, Craftsbury, VT 05826-0062/[phone]. E-mail: [e-mail].