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Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Sugar

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Sugar

Pictured are the genuine ‘Sexy John Oliver’ and “Sexy Louie CK’ costumes..Because women only do ‘sexy’ costumes.

With Halloween mere days away, John Oliver looks at our relationship with sugar. It turns out that we eat a shocking amount of the stuff – as it is often hidden where you’d least expect to find it.

If you feel there is nothing wrong with sugar, and that it in no way affects obesity, diabetes, heart disease and tooth decay, you are going to be ecstatic to hear that there is ample scientific evidence to back your theory. In fact, there is considerable reason to believe sugar is good for you – Wheeeeeeeeeee!

If – on the other hand, you believe that too much sugar can have a negative effect on your health, there is plenty of scientific evidence to back your theory as well! Obviously it is impossible for both views to be scientifically verifiable. How can this be…Can scientists be bought? You skippy damn betcha!   All of this preamble is to introduce a labeling law being considered by the FDA. Rather than simply listing sugar, manufacturers will be required to state how much sugar is in their products.  Naturally the law is facing heavy opposition.

My favorite salvo comes from beverage manufacturers who are reluctant to label soda cans with the number of teaspoons of sugar contained in their beverages. The manufacturers propose that grams be used instead.This is wicked and diabolical! They know perfectly well that we are confused, sugar addicted twits who don’t speak grams.

To counteract the beverage companies wily proposal, John suggests that they use Peanuts instead of grams or teaspoons.
We’re not speaking of legumes, we are speaking of the orange, rubberized, impenetrable, peanut-shaped ‘candy’ that no one has ever eaten to my knowledge.. This confection may have all been manufactured in 1910,  when Louis Black claims the first – and only batch of Candy Corn was made.

John has an ingenious plan. You see, each peanut contains 5 grams of sugar, making it the perfect unit of measurement! Instead of a label reading “Contains 25 grams” or 20 teaspoons, it would read, “contains 25 peanuts” – that way,  we’d all know what they were talking about.
TO BECOME INVOLVED…Go to:  #SHOWUSYOURPEANUTS

John speaks for us all:  “Show us! If you’re going to shove your peanuts in our mouths, the very least you can do is show us what we’re swallowing!”