John Oliver Food Waste H 2015
HBO/ScreenshotJohn Oliver served an 18-minute segment on Sunday exposing the stark statistics behind food waste — Americans waste about 40 percent of food produced each year, totaling $165 billion, according to a report by the Natural Resources Defense Council.
“Food waste is like the band Rascal Flatts: It can fill a surprising number of stadiums, even though many people consider them complete garbage,” said Oliver, also pointing out the negative consequences of the country’s food disposal processes. “When we dump food into a landfill, we’re essentially throwing a trash blanket over a flatulent food man and Dutch-ovening the entire planet.”
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Oliver then showed a clip peeking into a landfill that had a slew of vegetables, still intact. “The reason that happens is because if a peach doesn’t meet street aesthetic standards, it might not be worth it for a farmer to try and sell it. Our produce aisles have become a lot like Leonardo DiCaprio’s penis: exclusively accessible to the physically flawless.”
He also noted that America’s food waste makes no sense when so many families are struggling to put food on the table. “If you’re thinking, ‘But hold on, John, what if I’m an asshole who couldn’t give a shit about America’s hungry families or the long-term viability of life on Earth?’ Well, first let me say, ‘Mr. [Donald] Trump! Thank you so much for taking the time to watch this show tonight. It’s lovely to have you with us.'”
Watch the video below.
