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Loading...How to Stop Buying Palm Oil and Help Save the Orangutans
- Greennii
- November 23, 2012
- 2:00 pm
- 305 comments
It came to my attention not that long ago (sometimes I’m very behind in these things) that palm oil is one of the world’s largest ongoing environmental disasters and the primary destructive force behind the rapid extinction of the orangutan. The good news is, each and every one of us can help put a stop to it.
In order to plant palm trees that produce oil-rich seeds, virgin rain forest in Indonesia, Sumatra and Borneo is clear cut. What remains is burned. This sounds bad at the outset, when you just think about the trees, but much worse when you think about the animals that live there, including orangutans. They are the world’s largest tree-living primate, spending 90 percent of their time in the branches and not on the ground. Their homes are cut down, and they are subsequently killed by hand or by fire. Hundreds of orangutans are slaughtered this way and dozens of babies orphaned each month, leaving us with a bleak 62,000 left in the world. It is estimated that they will be extinct in under 20 years at our current rate of palm oil consumption and planting. The orangutans are the biggest loser in this proposition, but many other animals are also dying from loss of habitat, fire and outright killing, including Sumatran Tigers, Sumatran Rhinos, Pygmy Elephants and Bornean Red Carnivores.
The palm oil industry presents other environmental problems including air pollution, and according to PalmOilAction.org, “This year Indonesia will be included in the Guinness Book of Records as the country which pursues the highest annual rate of deforestation. Currently an area of forest equal to 300 soccer fields is being destroyed every hour in the country.” Three hundred soccer fields every hour is a hard thing for me to get my head around, but it’s enough to make me read my ingredients before I buy.
That’s the sneaky thing about palm oil – we are often unaware it’s in our products, from cosmetics, to food to biofuel. We all heard about the two girl scouts, Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, who made news by asking Kellogg Company, the makers of Girl Scout Cookies, to stop using palm oil in its famous brand; and I found several great resources full of information on other products using palm oil:
Other Ingredient Names Used to Describe Palm Oil:
- Sodium Laureth Sulphate (Can also be from coconut)
- Sodium Lauryl Sulphates (can also be from ricinus oil)
- Sodium dodecyl Sulphate (SDS or NaDS)
- Palmate
- Palm Oil Kernal
- Palmitate
- Palm Oil in Cosmetics
- Elaeis Guineensis
- Glyceryl Stearate
- Stearic Acid
- Chemicals containing palm oil
- Steareth -2
- Steareth -20
- Sodium Lauryl Sulphate
- Sodium lauryl sulfoacetate (coconut and/or palm)
- Hydrated palm glycerides
- Sodium isostearoyl lactylaye (derived from vegetable stearic acid)
- Cetyl palmitate and octyl palmitate (and anything with palmitate at the end) [1]
Next: List of Products with Palm Oil
Read more: Animal Rights, Conscious Consumer, Environment, Family, Food, Nature & Wildlife, Smart Shopping, Wildlife, avoiding palm oil, girl scout cookies, orangutan, orangutan extinction, orangutan habitat, orangutan rescue, palm oil, palm oil deforestation, palm oil in girl scout cookies, product with palm oil, products containing palm oil
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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+ add your ownHorrible to see just how many popular products have palm oil. I found myself holding my breath as I went down the lists. Fortunately, a couple of my favourites weren't listed. It bothered me to find it in the power and protein bars, things all about health. Geeeeeeeeeeez.
Orangutans are wonderful and gentle creatures! We must preserve their habitat and stop their extinction. I joined the group Orangutans:men of the forest to sign all petitions concerning them.
Very interesting, thanks. We must save the orangutans.
I think it would help to have a campaign for a ban of unsustainable palm oil, as products such as palm oil are very difficult to spot, and so much energy needs to be invested on the part of consumers to police brands. i would argue that so much energy is needed that the strategy to avoid it as a consumer might be ineffective. Is there some lobbying being done in this area?
I have a long list of the products using palm oil... The consumer has the power to end this!!! Sharing, thank you!
Thanks for sharing - it is so sad that this horrible destruction continues, both of the animals and of the precious forests which we need to battle climate change - why are people so ignorant or greedy??? Another NGO who is battling deforestation in Indonesia is:
http://www.rainforestrescue.org.au/ourprojects/save-a-rainforest-orangutan.html
Thank you for sharing.
Deforestation to make way for oil palm plantations is about as bad as the deforestation of the Amazon Forests to make way for cattle farming and soy-production, as is happening in Brazil, for example. However, not all palm oil is grown via deforestation - hence the article is somewhat skewed and not really researched. Also, not all Oil Palm plantations are situated in Orangutan regions. Again, biased report writing - more opinion than fact. Articles like this one and all commentaries in favour of boycotting palm oil will not make one dent in palm oil production - which is most regrettable...the greed factor still reigns supreme. But there are fully sustainable oil palm plantations - and blanket palm oil boycotts may harm these and the tribal populations making a living off such plantations. Look for RSPO accredited oil palm plantations. Major sweet manufacturers have switched their purchases solely to these producers. Palm oil is here to stay - so put your efforts in strengthening RSPO accredited palm oil production. (RSPO - Round Table for Sustainable Palm Oil - Palm Oil Watchdog)
http://www.drbronner.com/palm_oil_from_ghana.php
Dr Bronner's Palm Oil is sustainably sourced. I can't speak for any of the other brands on the list but I can for them!
thank you for the article! i have a petition against Monsanto, please support by signing!
Aside from the fact that 91% of the population oppose genetically modified foods and all that the corporation Monsanto represents, The EU Bank is still to give Monsanto $40,000,000 of E.U. funds. This is a criminal act against the people! This Financial support would be better used on organic farming! We need to support small farms that will replenish the soil and use seeds that are not genetically modified . The future of our planet depends upon it! Monsanto does not need financial aid, it is a profit-making enterprise! Monsanto spent $7,100,500 defeating California's Prop 37, ONLY TO BE GRANTED PUBLIC FUNDS OF 40MILLION DOLLARS? "Monsanto would fail if it wasn't for government-sanctioned secrecy and 'too big to fail' bailouts!!! Now is the time to be angry! please sign and share the petition.
petition link: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/668/278/722/stop-monsanto-from-receiving-public-fund-from-the-eu-bank/
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