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John Oliver Hilariously Demolishes The "No Eating Before Swimming" Canard
By
Nell Casey
Published Jul 20, 2015
Modified Jul 20, 2015
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By
Nell Casey
Published Jul 20, 2015
Modified Jul 20, 2015
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Our deeply problematic food waste epidemic was the source of John Oliver's frustrations on Last Week Tonight this week, where the host broke down the devastating consequences the situation has on our population, economics and planet. Highlighting the mounting problem in the United States, Oliver revealed that Americans toss out more than a third of our food, a startling increase of 50% since the 1970s. "At this rate, in 40 years, when you order pizza from Domino's they'll just deliver it straight to the nearest dumpster. As they should, but that's not the point here," he quipped.
There are multiple entry points into food waste, including ridiculous beauty standards applied to produce not deemed "perfect" enough for grocery store shelves and the prohibitive costs to producers to donate that food instead of tossing it. Then there's confusion regarding food labels, particularly the dates that indicated sell by or use by, meaning more food gets thrown away by consumers who think that food has expired.
In truth, there are no requirements by the FDA in regards to sell by dates; it's just manufacturers indicating when they think a product will be at its freshest, not when it poses any kind of health risk.
While the facts laid out about food waste are dismaying, it's the revelation that countless hours of quality swimming time were also wasted that really hits home. All that nonsense about waiting 30 minutes after eating before getting back in the pool? Total bullshit. Thanks a lot, MOM.
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john oliver
last week tonight
Nell Casey
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