[name:] Juliet Gellatley
[section:] Advertising
[for:] The Defence
[expertise:] Vegetarian Researcher and Educator
[date:] not dated
[status:] Appeared in court
$B!#!#!#(B
As Director of Youth Education of the Vegetarian Society I have been invited
to talk to more than 400 schools in the UK to pupils between the ages of
eight and 18 years. From 1983 to 1993 I gave in the region of 500 talks to
approximately 30,000 pupils. I have given more school talks on the subject
of vegetarianism than probably anyone else in Britain.
School Talk
A school talk most frequently consisted of either showing a 20 minute video,
followed by a 20 minute talk then a 20 minute debate or of a 20 to 30 minute
talk followed by a 20 to 30 minute debate. Question from pupils and teachers
were invited during the talk itself.
The statement in the leaflet "What's Wrong With McDonald's?" says that the
McDonald's ads "traps children into thinking they aren't normal" if they
don't go there too.
$B%^%/%I%J%k%I$O;R6!C#$N$?$^$j$P!#$=$3$G0l=o$K?);v$r$7$J$$$H!V$N$1
I have found this to be true. In the debate section of my talks one of the
concerns voiced about becoming vegetarian was that the children/ teenagers
would not be able to go to McDonald's with their friends. When probed
further the children/ teenagers almost always replied that they "want to be
seen as normal" or "don't want to be laughed at" for refusing to meet their
friends or eating at McDonald's. They also said that McDonald's excluded
vegetarians in their minds because it only really sold meat, that the chips
were cooked in beef fat, and to the teenagers, it was not an ethical place
to be.
$B!#!#!#(B
$B86J8$r$4Mw2<$5$$!#!#!#(B