Save an Orang-utan – Today!
You probably know about palm oil. It’s a very versatile vegetable oil made from palm trees which is used in lots of different products from food to cosmetics.
The orang-utan is one of the better-known casualties of palm oil.
Why? Because palm plantations are most commonly planted in areas which used to contain rainforest, but are cleared and then planted with the palm mono-crop. All too often, the whole process from start to finish is far from sustainable. And the orang-utans lose their homes and their food source when the rainforest is destroyed.
“Clearing” (the “nicer” word for destroying) rainforest causes devastation to the animals who inhabit it, and to the people who (used to) depend upon it for their food, water and medicine.
Easter Time
Our shops and stores are brimming with attractive Easter eggs.
This Easter, be sure to buy Easter eggs which don’t contain unsustainable palm oil.
But how can you do that, when it doesn’t even say Palm Oil on the label (it normally just says vegetable oil).
Luckily, the Rainforest Foundation has published a list of chocolate manufacturers and rated them according to their usage of sustainable palm oil.
The list is of chocolate available in the UK. However, many of these items are produced by American companies, so the brands should be quite familiar world-wide.
(One US brand not covered, because I don’t think they sell in the UK, is Hershey’s. I remember they had a lot of complaints around 2010 for using unsustainable palm oil, and they say they’ve now changed – does anyone know for sure?).
We CAN make a difference. By voting with our wallets and buying only from companies which use sustainable palm oil, we can show the large organizations that we will only buy products made from sustainable sources.
So, give a gift to an orang-utan this year. Help to protect their habitat by being aware of and avoiding products which use unsustainable palm oil.
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I don’t believe it! All my favourite choccies right there in one ‘banned by Clare’ list. I don’t actually eat much in the way of chocolate but all the better tasting ones are right there. Blast. Do Lays Crisps use palm oil………I could be on a very strict diet if they are. Thanks Clare, I think!
[…] we face massive deforestation. This has a huge impact not only on the animals who live in the forest and have their homes destroyed, but also on Earth’s ability to absorb all our pollution and keep […]