The Problem with Palm Oil (theproblemwithpalmoil.org)

Member Name: Zmugzy

Product:	theproblemwithpalmoil.org
Date:	14/05/09 (183 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A well designed campaign website

Disadvantages: None

This website was set up by the Rainforest Action Network, a US based NGO, in order to highlight how the destruction of rainforests, natural habitats and animal species is caused by palm oil production and the manufacture of products containing palm oil. Many big name brands such as Nestle, Kellogg's, Burt's Bees Inc. and Chanel still use palm oil cultivated in such a destructive way. www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org is a very simple website with a good design layout and excellent colour scheme. Navigation could not be easier and the message of the site comes across loud and clear.

The Problem with Palm Oil
Palm  oil  plantations  are  expanding  into  the  planet's  most biodiverse  ecosystems,  including  rainforests,  grasslands  and  peat swamps in South America, Southeast Asia, the Pacific and Africa. These regions are home to millions of plant and animal species some of which are highly endangered such as clouded leopards, and sun bears. The island of Borneo (part Malaysia and Indonesia) has suffered badly. The devastation has been so severe that it is estimated that Orangutans (Borneo is their only habitat) could become extinct in the wild within the next decade.

Transforming ecosystems into monocultural oil palm plantations also contributes heavily to global climate change when rainforests are clear-cut and burned, and carbon-rich peat swamps are drained and burned. Deforestation accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the primary reason that Indonesia and Brazil are now the world's third and fourth largest greenhouse gas polluters.

The spread of massive palm oil plantations often violates traditional and Indigenous land rights by forcing small family farmers to shift from subsistence to export-driven commodity farming or pushing them off their land entirely. Many palm oil-plantation workers also face abuse, harsh working conditions, unfair pay, and exposure to toxic pesticides.

Who Causes Rainforest Destruction?
U.S. agribusiness giants ADM, Bunge and Cargill dominate the world markets for palm oil and soy crops that are grown on cleared rainforest lands. Cargill  is  a very powerful  agribusiness  and  commodity trading  group - the biggest  in  the  world. Cargill opened a $20 million port in Santarem in Bazil to increase soya production from rainforest land. In 2003 4,600 square miles of soya crops were planted, and 6,950 square miles of rainforest were lost. Soyabean production became the greatest driver of deforestation in the Amazon. Cargill also owns a dozen plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia, where it grows oil palm on freshly cleared rainforest land. It is also a major global trader of palm oil. The Indonesian government recently announced that peat lands will be opened up for further palm oil expansion.

The Rainforest Agribusiness Campaign
The campaign is aimed at defending forests, farmers and the climate by demanding that ADM, Bunge and Cargill stop clearing rainforests for industrial-scale palm and soy plantations. The campaigners work in partnership with communities and small family farmers who are affected by the expansion of palm oil and soy crops, as well as with local NGOs that work on related issues. In developed countries the Rainforest Action Network also encouraged a sticker campaign whereby warning stickers are placed on products with unsustainable palm oil ingredients.

The campaign focuses primarily on food and fuel - the main types of ingredients for which palm oil is used in the U.S. market. Products containing palm oil are identified and publicity is give to palm oil-free alternatives. They also address palm oil as a source of biofuel. Recent palm oil expansion has been caused by a rise in demand for biofuel.

The Pledge
The Rainforest Action Network is trying to get major companies to sign up to a pledge that commits those who sign it to support the protection of rainforests, communities and our global climate by not purchasing palm oil that violates standards set up to protect rainforests and peat swamps. These standards also respect the free, prior and informed consent of communities impacted by palm oil expansion. The pledge also commits signatories to work with Rainforest Action Network to ensure that sustainable alternatives are available in the marketplace. The campaign is a difficult one because so many companies use palm oil. Nevertheless, a list of companies that have so far signed the pledge can be seen on the website.

There is also a special list of the "Dirty 19". Here is the list:

Bath and Body Works
Cadbury
Campbell Soup Company
Chanel
Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream
Elizabeth Arden, Inc.
General Mills
Hershey
Kellogg's
Kraft
L'Oreal
Nabisco, Inc.
Nestle
Odwalla (parent company: Coca Cola)
Pepperidge Farm
PepsiCo. (Frito Lay)
Proctor and Gamble
The Dial Corporation
Unilever

These are brands that sell products containing palm oil and have refused to sign the pledge. By checking the label and looking for "palm oil", "palm kernel oil", "palm fruit oil" or "palmitate", you'll know that the manufacture and purchase of such products contributes to rainforest destruction and is reducing the diversity of life on planet Earth.


The leaflet below provides some more useful information but beware that there are some VERY upsetting pictures of orangutans: -

http://redapes.org/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/bos _palmoilreport.pdf

Summary: Rainforest Action Network campaign saving the rainforests from the palm oil industry.