Gutfeld on plastic bags and the coronavirus

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Gutfeld on plastic bags and the coronavirus

Can we learn from the past to avoid future outbreaks?

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We look at small things as trivial, but in reality, the things we ignore come back to haunt us.

Look at me. I was once a small thing myself. Still am.

Another example: A scientific paper predicted that the presence of SARS-like viruses in bats together with the practice of eating them was "a time bomb."

NEW YORK'S PLASTIC-BAG BAN FRUSTRATES MANY SHOPPERS

That was in 2007. Now, a warning from me in 2014.

Six years ago, in my book, "Not Cool," on page 136, I warned readers of reusable shopping bags. One study linked them to a 46 percent increase in deaths from foodborne illnesses. They raise the risk by harboring viruses that can go from your bag to the food you share with your family.

Reusable feed bags might have also killed millions of piglets seven years ago by spreading a novel swine virus. Other research among humans shows how viruses spread with similar bags, making people sick.

So why is this important? As states ban plastic bags, you're supposed to rely on reusable bags. Which, in a time like this, ain't good. We're told to steer clear of contaminated surfaces, yet we carry one to stores, schools, and workplaces. And we put our food in it.

Right now, it makes sense to postpone these bans.

Hell, we're postponing everything else. It's a vector we can control.

So the good news? We aren’t running out of food, and we probably won't.

The bad news? Those bags you put your food in aren't helping.

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Some viruses spread through good intentions gone bad.

The best intention now is to ask for single-use bags -- plastic or paper.

Adapted from Greg Gutfeld’s monologue on "The Five" on March 18, 2020.

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