International Delight/White Wave Foods, please take Palm Oil out of your products!
- by: Christina Nicholls
- recipient: Gregg L. Engles - Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of White Wave Foods, Blaine E. McPeak - President and Executive Vice President, Kelly J. Haecker - Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President
It is almost certainly universally known that obtaining Palm Oils is destroying the natural habitats of animals, especially Orangutans. They are shot, burned alive and left to die. However, not only is obtaining these oils bad for the environment, the oils themsleves could put those who consume them at greater risk for heart disease. No cup of coffee is worth that risk.
What is so wrong with how we get palm oil?
Palm oil is brought to us by literally destroying the habitat of animals, particularly orangutans. Thousands of orangutans have died because of this trade. In fact, five particular mammals are endangered (3 being on the "critically endangered" list) because their habits have been cleared away for palm oil. These are the Sumatran and Bornean Orangutans, Asian Elephant, Sumatran Tiger, and Sumatran Rhinoceros. This is happening all over Southeast Asia, but the majority of the palm oil (over 80%) comes from Malaysia and Borneo alone. Something needs to be done, and soon. If this continues, the Friends of the Earth predicts that in about 10 years, orangutans will be extinct. Extinct.
Why is this the case? In their natural habitat, these animals are losing their homes to fires, the logging industry, and more specifically, the palm oil industry. Palm Oil plantations abound, and animals are facing the truth that their travel patterns are cut off, their homes are vanishing (ie: the rainforest in general). Animals are much more vulnerable to poachers because of this. Plantation workers have also been discovered to kill these animals to get food, or to just get the animals "out of their way". Numerous cases of killing these animals essentially "for the sport of it" have been reported. Another way the animals are dying is because the plantation workers often set fires to clear space and the fires often burn out of control, destroying a large chunk of the natural habitat of these animals.
Not only are there moral issues when it comes to the loss of life of these animals, but there is a huge environmental impact. Tropical rainforests are being cleared away. Because of the palm oil plantations (made by clearing away the rainforests), over 600 million TONS of carbon are leaked into the air. Pesticides and herbicides are in the air because of this practice. Let's also think about the fish dying each day from what is being leaked from the processing plants there. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2668693
People are becoming more responsible in buying their products and are willing to cease using the ones that threaten to eradicate entire species, put us at risk for diseases and potentially kill off tens of thousands of acres of rainforests.
Please, tell International Delight and White Wave Foods to do the responsible thing and take Palm Oils out of their products. Not only will their customers thank them for it but they'll be taking a giant step in the right direction for conservation efforts and responsibility.
It is almost certainly universally known that obtaining Palm Oils is destroying the natural habitats of animals, especially Orangutans. They are shot, burned alive and left to die. However, not only is obtaining these oils bad for the environment, the oils themsleves could put those who consume them at greater risk for heart disease. No cup of coffee is worth that risk.
What is so wrong with how we get palm oil?
Palm oil is brought to us by literally destroying the habitat of animals, particularly orangutans. Thousands of orangutans have died because of this trade. In fact, five particular mammals are endangered (3 being on the "critically endangered" list) because their habits have been cleared away for palm oil. These are the Sumatran and Bornean Orangutans, Asian Elephant, Sumatran Tiger, and Sumatran Rhinoceros. This is happening all over Southeast Asia, but the majority of the palm oil (over 80%) comes from Malaysia and Borneo alone. Something needs to be done, and soon. If this continues, the Friends of the Earth predicts that in about 10 years, orangutans will be extinct. Extinct.
Why is this the case? In their natural habitat, these animals are losing their homes to fires, the logging industry, and more specifically, the palm oil industry. Palm Oil plantations abound, and animals are facing the truth that their travel patterns are cut off, their homes are vanishing (ie: the rainforest in general). Animals are much more vulnerable to poachers because of this. Plantation workers have also been discovered to kill these animals to get food, or to just get the animals "out of their way". Numerous cases of killing these animals essentially "for the sport of it" have been reported. Another way the animals are dying is because the plantation workers often set fires to clear space and the fires often burn out of control, destroying a large chunk of the natural habitat of these animals.
Not only are there moral issues when it comes to the loss of life of these animals, but there is a huge environmental impact. Tropical rainforests are being cleared away. Because of the palm oil plantations (made by clearing away the rainforests), over 600 million TONS of carbon are leaked into the air. Pesticides and herbicides are in the air because of this practice. Let's also think about the fish dying each day from what is being leaked from the processing plants there. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/2668693
People are becoming more responsible in buying their products and are willing to cease using the ones that threaten to eradicate entire species, put us at risk for diseases and potentially kill off tens of thousands of acres of rainforests.
Please, tell International Delight and White Wave Foods to do the responsible thing and take Palm Oils out of their products. Not only will their customers thank them for it but they'll be taking a giant step in the right direction for conservation efforts and responsibility.
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