Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Jamie Oliver lectures Canadian politicians on diet education

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is lobbying Canadian politicians to educate the public about proper diets.

"The biggest killer in your country is diet-related disease. It's not guns, it's not armed robbery," Oliver said in an exclusive interview from Sydney, Australia, where he launched a global campaign this week urging G20 countries to make food education mandatory in schools.

"When it has a dramatic cost to public health, which it does in Canada ... you really need to do something much more long term, much more strategic."

Oliver is well known for his international advocacy for healthy food in schools, but he's upping the ante with his G20 campaign.


He's aiming for millions of signatures worldwide, and is off to a good start: an online petition through the website Change.org attracted 160,000 in the first 24 hours. Oliver cooked for G20 leaders in London at their 2009 summit.