Last Week Tonight with John Oliver takes on food labeling and the lies they tell consumers

[telemann.livejournal.com]

Former Daily Show correspondent John Oliver launched his new show "Last Week Tonight with John Oliver" on HBO last night. In this segment, he covers a recent Supreme Court case involving one of the plaintiffs citing the 1st amendment as protection for their false advertising, and other insane claims made for products. Other segments featured the United States media outlets largely ignoring one of the largest elections the world has seen thus far (in India); and an interview with former NSA director Keith Alexander. The entire program is viewable on Youtube.

Video here.

Comments

[oslo.livejournal.com]

A good argument from you would be to explain why GMO labeling is necessary information, thus explaining why introducing other hypothetical labeling information that a "consumer has the right to know" would be unnecessary.

And here's where we can tip the slippery slope right back in your direction. Because what is necessary information, on a product label? Is it the country of origin? Is it the precise ordering of ingredients? Is it the nutrient information? Is there any reason we "need" to know how a new garment of clothing should be laundered? And why is "necessary information" a relevant criterion, anyway?

It would seem to me that the standard to apply here is found by asking: what kinds of information do people want to know, when they are purchasing a product? What kinds of information are relevant to their estimation of value and the assessment and comparison of prices? All that "labeling" needs to accomplish, I think, is to draw out the information that there's a market demand for. When we do that, we accomplish two things: we reduce the transaction costs for making purchases, and we ensure a more efficient matching of supply to demand. If I value a tomato with only tomato genes in it more highly than I value a tomato with pig genes, then it makes sense for labeling to enable me to avoid over-paying for things I don't want, regardless of whether my reasons behind the preference make any sense.