Stop Nabisco / Christie snacks from using Palm Oil!

by: Angela Demchuk
recipient: Nabisco's chief executive officer Irene Rosenfeld.

Unfortunately there are some large companies that are destroying trees in order to harvest palm oil.

The problem with palm oil

For starters, palm oil is very high in saturated fat. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “Diets high in saturated fat have been linked to chronic disease, specifically coronary heart disease.” And the American Heart Association links saturated fats to increased cholesterol levels, which can up your risk of heart disease and stroke.

Alarmingly, chips made with palm oil contain 75 percent more saturated fat than chips made with sunflower or canola oil! Palm kernel oil, which is palm oil harvested from the pit rather than the fruit, contains even more fat, plus it cannot be obtained organically, as the oil must be extracted from the pit with a gasoline-like hydrocarbon solvent. (Sounds delicious, right?)

Manufacturers like palm oil for its stability (read: longer shelf life) and melting characteristics, but the bottom line is that palm oil is a cheap, unhealthy fat that is primarily used by companies to increase profits.

The health hazards alone might be enough to convince some people to purge palm oil from their diets, but let’s move on to an even hairier concern…

Behold the incredibly gentle, highly intelligent and insanely adorable orangutan. Orangutans are found only in the tropical lowland rain forests of the Asian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. Due primarily to habitat destruction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has classified the Bornean orangutan as “Endangered” and the Sumatran orangutan as “Critically Endangered.”

And the single greatest threat to orangutans? The rapidly expanding palm oil industry.

According to the CSPI report, they are also endangering the lives of the Sumatran tiger, orangutans, elephants, and rhinoceros.

read petition letter ▾

Irene Rosenfeld,

I have been a customer of Christie since I can remember and before I bought my own groceries my parents purchased the Christie products. Crispers were one of my favorites! But then I discovered the ingredients include Palm oil.

If you haven't heard about Palm oil already here are some valuable facts: Palm oil is the second-most consumed oil in the world and it is quickly replacing the partially hydrogenated fats (or trans fats) in many of your favorite treats. But there’s a dark side to palm oil and that's no secret.

It’s not just the saturated fat in palm oil that is raising concerns. Palm oil is grown predominantly in Malaysia and Indonesia, where palm oil plantations contribute to the destruction of Southeast Asian rain forests, says a CSPI report released in 2005. Rather than using abandoned agricultural land, which is costly to rehabilitate, palm oil producers clear rain forests and peat swamp forests to create plantations. The soil and water from these lands are polluted by pesticides used on the plantations and the release of effluents into the environment. According to the CSPI report, they are also endangering the lives of the Sumatran tiger, orangutans, elephants, and rhinoceros.

It is widely known that even Palm oil plantations are not desired due to the destruction behind them. I have boycotted all Palm oil products and will not be purchasing or consuming any products made by the companies that use palm oil.

Please stop the use of Palm oil in Christie products!

Update #18 years ago

Hi, thanks for signing my petition against the use of Palm oil! I have been less active on the site due to the arrival of my baby girl but want to get back at it and do what I can to make a difference. Could you please help by sharing this petition? Together we can prevent uneducated and careless people who still buy these products from contributing to the suffering and dealth of endangered animals!

Sign Petition

See more petitions:

You have JavaScript disabled. Without it, our site might not function properly.

By signing, you accept Care2's Terms of Service.
You can unsub at any time here.

Having problems signing this? Let us know.

Care2

Stop Nabisco / Christie snacks from using Palm Oil!