Papua New Guinea, where there are reported to be at least two hundred species of mammals, including possums, wallabies, and the endangered tree kangaroo, and more than seven hundred bird species, is also considered to be ripe for further exploitation. You can volunteer, donate, or simply spread the word. New species are being discovered in Papua New Guinea all the time, and conservationists are a long way from knowing how many rat and frog species, as well as plants, there are in the country. Palm oil is the most consumed oil in the world. Animal People does not knowingly distribute content without permission from its copyright holders, except as allowed by a public copyright license or under the principles of fair use. According to a United Nationsreportpublished in 2015, more than 80 percent of the remaining orangutan habitat on Borneo could be lost by the year 2080 if the islands current land-use policies remain intact. As a 501(c)3 charity, we specifically do not endorse political parties or candidates. For more information see our Privacy Policy. PALM OIL - Uses, Side Effects, and More - WebMD 1.About palm oil. Although usually only by people who profit from selling it.). One of the orangutans being cared for at the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programmes quarantine centre a male named Leuser was shot at least 62 times with an air rifle and was blinded by the pelletsthat lodged in his eyes. Information and resources shared by FRN are for informational purposes only and are not intended to diagnose, treat, or cure any type of disease or condition. How Does Deforestation Affect Animals? | Greentumble For example, U.K. frozen food chain Iceland became among the first to stop using palm oil in their products. Each one includes related planning and response considerations for oil spills which may affect these particularly sensitive organisms and habitats. In April this year, a female elephant, aged about 12, was found dead on an oil palm plantation in North Sumatra, owned by the Indonesian company PT Perkebunan Inti Sawit Subur and adjacent to the Gunung Leuser National Park. It is found in products ranging from soap, cosmetics, and cleaning products to candles, chocolate, and ice cream, and it is also used to make biofuel. All other applicable rights remain those of the content creators. Image courtesy Wolf Gordon Clifton / Animal People, Inc. In the U.S., imports rose 352% between 2002 and 2012. (The European Union, the United States, and Canada already require palm oil to be specifically identified, but Australia and New Zealand are lagging behind.). Palm oil is destroying rainforests. But try going a day without it. Ancient elephant migratory paths run through this region and are being disrupted by palm oil expansion, RAN said. charlie's chapter, Whats the deal with palm oil? Read the full story of their rescue here. Wildlife habitat is destroyed to make way for oil palms, and animals who stray onto plantations in search of food are shot or poisoned. The conversion to date, and future expansion, threatens biodiversity and increases greenhouse gas emissions. Oil palm trees are native to Africa and historically grew in countries to its west and south-west. Government data has shown that over 50,000 orangutans have already died as a result of deforestation due to palm oil in the last two decades. It leads consumers to think their oil is safe for the environment. After palm oil plantations are established, displaced starving orangutans are frequently killed in the most brutal ways as agricultural pests when they try to obtain food in the plantation areas. Saturated fats elevate the body's cholesterol levels and build up plaque in the arteries. Both are kept separately from ordinary palm oil throughout the supply chain. Itrequires only 0.26 hectares (about 0.6 acres) of land to produce one ton of oil. In 2016, theInternational Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) changed the classification of the Bornean orangutan (Pongo pygmaeus) from endangered to critically endangered, citing the main causes of its population decline as habitat loss and fragmentation, primarily for logging and oil palm plantations, along with illegal hunting and fires. And in India, consumption increased more than 230% since 2001. Palm oil is toxic to dogs and if ingested can cause a fatal reaction. Palm oil comes from the fruit of oil palms. When the paths are destroyed, the animals often stray onto cleared lands and come into direct contact with communities and plantation workers, increasing human-elephant conflict. Palm oil plantation from the air. Wildlife habitat is destroyed to make way for oil palms, and animals who stray onto plantations in search of food are shot or poisoned. As a result of the expansion of this crop, around 300 football fields of rainforestare chopped down every hour to make way for palm plantations. Palm oil has also replaced coconut as the main cooking oil traditionally used in Indonesia as well as replacing peanut oil in Myanmar. These studies compared palm oil to other liquid oils such as olive oil, and generally found that palm oil performed worse than alternatives. There are thousands of names for palm oil and its derivatives, such as stearic acid, cetyl alcohol, and glyceryl stearate, so it is very difficult for consumers who dont have access to a reliable certification trademark to know whether a product contains palm oil or not. Or if youre concerned about human rights, tropical rainforests, orangutans, or the future of our climate, you now have a few more good reasons to ditch processed foods altogether. Palm Oil and Animal Rights: How you can combat the destruction of wild Why is using palm oil bad? - Thesocialselect.com Deforestation for palm plantations has greatly impacted the world's smallest bear species. Palm Oil's Environmental Impact: Can It Be Grown Sustainably? Luff says the palm oil industry should be encouraged to produce non-conflict palm oil, but this is a mammoth task that will take time. The organization has developed a set of standards to produce palm oil, , using the principles of regenerative agriculture, They regenerate land that is already degraded or convert existing palm farms to organic, The 4 Scientifically Proven Pillars of Heart Health, 7 Festive and Healthy Mardi Gras Recipes That Are Powered by Plants, Why School Lunches in America Are Unhealthy and 10 Ways You Can Take Action to Improve Them, How to Wash Vegetables and Fruits to Remove Pesticides, How Diet and Good Gut Health Can Help Manage Pain & Inflammation in Rheumatoid Arthritis, 11 Banned Foods Americans Should Stop Eating, Why the Global Rise in Vegan and Plant-Based Eating is No Fad (30x Increase in US Vegans + Other Astounding Vegan Stats). But theres a dark side to the palm oil industry thats hidden from most of our eyes. In a report published in the journal PLOS ONE in July last year, Varsha Vijay et al said that, despite having relatively small plantation areas, countries in Latin America and Africa experienced a greater percentage growth in palm oil cultivation between 2003 and 2013 than Indonesia or Malaysia. Up to 300 football fields of forest are cleared every hour to make room for palm plantations.The power is in your palm. And yet, by no means should palm oil be considered a health food. This either occurs during the deforestation process, or after the animal enters a village or existing palm oil plantation in search of food. When trees are young, harvesting the fruit is manageable. Animals in combat zones often become collateral damage for battles between troops or between opposing forces. Despite the health risks, the greatest controversy over palm oil surrounds the industrys impact on the environment. According to the latest estimates, there were about 14,600 Sumatran orangutans left in the wild in 2015. I am an Irish journalist, based mainly in Southeast Asia. Palm oil is a popular oil found in many foods. Palm oil is destroying rainforests. Health Conditions Privacy Policy | Get Email Updates | Website Survey Palm oil is ubiquitous! Palm oil is a cheap oil we cant afford to have.. Up to two million Indonesians work in the palm oil industry. Our monthly e-newsletter 'Eyes on the Forest' gives you an up-close-and-personal look at Orangutan Foundation International's conservation work and alerts you to all the news, stories, events, and photos you won't want to miss. Palm Done Right is good news for animals. Please consider giving as much as you can to help us provide year-round care to the hundreds of orangutans who depend on that care for their very survival and ultimately, their return home to the forest. Palm oil contains about 50% of a type of saturated fat thats thought to be healthier to consume than trans fats and factory farmed animal fats. Palm Oil is a vegetable oil that is applied to many foods and routine household items which can grow on palm tree in the abundance of rainforests. Researchers have found that so-called sustainable palm oil is often still associated with the recent loss of rainforests and habitat degradation. Oil can also smother some small species of fish or invertebrates and coat feathers and fur, reducing birds' and mammals' ability to maintain their body temperatures. Does farming palm oil harm the environment? | Sturdy Barn People shoot them to protect crops, to kill a mother in order to capture her baby to sell, or just for sport.. If you believe that your work has been submitted to the Animal People Forum without your permission, please contact info@animalpeopleforum.org, For more information, see And around the world, the use of this oil is increasing. More Protein, Better Protein - Sustainable Dish, Homemade Vegan Butter - no emulsifiers & ready in mins - A Virtual Vegan, Orangutans, Palm Oil, and Progress - Pursue News, The Environmental Costs of Palm Oil Production The Orangutan Gang, A Palm oil free Pancake Day! There are severe damages in all the areas in which there are palm oil extractions. To be certified by the POFCAP, products must be free not only of palm oil, but also of palm oil derivatives. It is widely used in the manufacturing of many products, from margarine to lipstick, biscuits to candles, and chocolate to laundry detergent. "At present, 80% of orangutan habitat has been altered or lost.". What is the Problem with Palm Oil? Why Should We Care? You can log in with the same email you used for older (pre-2018) products at the link above. Oil palm cultivation has had an extremely damaging effect on the biodiversity of Sumatras Leuser Ecosystem, which is the last place on Earth where orangutans, rhinos, tigers, and elephants can be found living together in the wild. Contact the customer services departments of companies that are still using uncertified oil and insist that they source deforestation-free, segregated CSPO. Essay On Palm Oil - 1186 Words | Cram Why is palm oil controversial? - Mongabay Kids The draining, burning, and conversion of peat swamp forests to palm oil has been especially damaging to the worlds climate as it has led to Indonesia being the third largest contributor of carbon to the worlds atmosphere after China and the United States. What Are the Real Superfoods? You can stop receiving messages at any time by texting STOP to 67692, for help text HELP to 67692. Many animals that call Borneo and Sumatra home are in jeopardy of loosing their homes and habitat, meaning when their homes disappear, theyve got nowhere else to go. Adverse Effects of Palm Oil | livestrong During most oil spills, seabirds are harmed and killed in greater numbers than other kinds of creatures. Support NGOs working to rescue wildlife and protect and restore their habitat. But this process grows ever more strenuous as the trees grow larger. How does COVID-19 affect Wildlife Conservation? Kallista Alam was fined 114.3 billion rupiah (at that time nearly 9.4 million US$) in compensation and 251.7 billion rupiah (then close to 20.8 million US$) to restore the affected forest, but has still not paid the money. One study found that palm oil increased cholesterol in healthy individuals. ), After two or three decades, the trees get too tall for the fruit to be reachable. Male Bornean orangutan at Samboja Lestari, a reforestation, wildlife rehabilitation, and ecotourism project operated by the Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation outside Balikpapan, East Kalimantan, Indonesia. The world's most popular vegetable oilpalm oilis produced in tropical rain forests everywhere. Palm Oil: See How It Harms People, Animals, & the Planet In fact, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), when you walk into the supermarket, palm oil is an ingredient in half of what you see on the shelves. Liberia and Cameroon are two other African countries that are attracting overseas investment in palm oil production. You can find it on ingredient labels under the following names: Many environmentally friendly alternatives exist. Palm oil is the world's most produced, consumed and traded vegetable oil. Originally native to South America and West Africa, palm oil plantations have now spread throughout the wet tropics to Papua New Guinea, parts of Asia, Kenya, and also back to countries in West Africa and South America where the palms are native. In fact, about 50% of the packaged foods in your typical supermarket contain palm oil. You can put pressure on companies via social media and by telephoning them and emailing. At this rate all of the earth's forests will be . An Interview with Dr. Diana Fleischman, Why Humans Disappearing From the Planet Could Be a Very Bad Thing For Animals, U.S. House Reintroduces Shark Fin Sales Elimination Act to Protect Sharks from Cruel Finning, The Dangerous Rhetoric of Contemporary Animal Rights Law: A Review of Marek Mullers, Using Data to End Dog Homelessness: The Global Dog Campaign. Especially relevant this time of year, palm oil is in your candy. Half the packaged food (and other) products found on supermarket shelves now contain palm oil. But why is it bad? Also, if heavy oils get onto the feathers of birds, the birds may die of hypothermia (they lose the ability to keep themselves warm). Under the Book & Claim system, manufacturers and retailers buy credits from RSPO-certified growers and crushers and independent smallholders. Most palm oil production directly or indirectly harms animals. Otherwise, study your labels and the many names given to palm oil (see list here) and reduce the number of products you buy that contain these ingredients. Soybeans, in contrast, need about 10 times as much land to produce a ton of soybean oil. If you like the idea of adding palm oil to your diet or personal care products but dont want to contribute to environmental destruction and violation of human rights, you may think a sustainable variety is the answer. It is the production method of 83 percent of the industry that is questionable., Luff says that palm oil is a vegan ingredient in the sense that it is plant based and not of animal origin, but millions of animals and insects whole ecosystems, in fact are wiped out because of the production of conflict palm oil.. Image credit Rainforest Action Network, Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0. charlie's chapter, Pingback: Whats the deal with palm oil? First, the large-scale production of palm oil can lead to deforestation and habitat loss for animals that live in areas where palm oil is grown. Is Palm Oil Vegan? Here's The Impact Of Palm Oil | 86 Lemons Fair for Life is another standard to look for. Take Action Against Export of Baby Elephants from Zimbabwe to China! If you are purchasing products that do contain palm oil, only buy from companies that use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO). This is an issue that has serious impacts for people and the environment. While the yield of alternative oils is much lower: 0.8 t / h for rapeseed oil, 0.7 t / h for sunflower oil, 0.5 t / h for soy oil (WWF 2016 data). Up to 300 football fields of forest are cleared every hour to make room for palm plantations. Mother and baby orangutan living semi-wild at the Semenggoh Wildlife Centre outside Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Sun bears are proficient climbers and spend much of their time in the trees, searching for honey and. In contrast, very "heavy" oils (like bunker oils, which are used to fuel ships) look black and may be sticky for a time until they weather sufficiently, but even then they can persist in the environment for months or even years if not removed. And this gives rise to a chain of devastating consequences. The coastguard has advised dog owners keep their pets off the beach and on a lead as although the palm oil has been removed "it is possible that more could come ashore". There were between 2,000 and 3,000 orangutans in the area in the 1990s, but only a few hundred remain today. Consulting firm Prosympac conducts job training at an RSPO-certified palm oil plantation in Jambi, Sumatra. Please let me know at ilonaabbott-newland@seatoun.school.nz. Orangutans are one of the animals most affected by palm oil. They see the area as their home range and will go there no matter what.. Palm oil and palm kernel oil are found in all manner of baked goods, such as cookies, bread, and potato chips, as well as in chocolate and milk (where it adds Vitamin A). Reading ingredients and avoiding processed foods are easy ways to reduce palm oil usage. This is a result of unsustainable palm oil extractions and deforestations in their natural habitat. By entering your information here, you are agreeing to receive messages from Food Revolution Network. The snares on the plantation are huge, Hadisiswoyo said. Second, palm oil production can result in greenhouse gas emissions, which contribute to climate change. Image credit Climate Alliance org, CC BY-NC 2.0, Palm Oil Free and Sustainable Palm Oil Certification. Both of the primates legs and arms were broken and she was severely malnourished. Unfortunately, the founders were industry leaders. Questions and answers about palm oil - Rainforest Rescue For example, the yield per hectare of Palm Oil is very high: about 3.8 tons per hectare (t / h). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, it is predicted to increase to 66.87 million tonnes between November 2017 and November 2018. The pressure from consumers demanding sustainability has a strong knock-on effect all the way up the supply chain to the producer and to the delivery of a sustainable product globally, Desilets says. How Does Palm Oil Negatively Impact the Environment? In February this year, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) published evidence of illegal clearance of critically endangered Sumatran elephant habitat within the Leuser Ecosystem, by the palm oil companyPT Agra Bumi Niaga (PT ABN). The World Wildlife Fund estimates that an area about the size of 300 football fields is cleared each hour in tropical rainforests for palm oil production. Palm oil plantations are ripping through the heart of the Asian elephant habitat forcing them close to humans and into conflict. The director of Eco Custodian Advocates in Papua New Guinea, David Mitchell, says we should not just be focusing on numbers. Some dogs have become seriously ill after ingesting palm oil. Focus on fresh, locally grown foods first and foremost. This type of oil is rich in unhealthy saturated fats that can affect your cholesterol levels. But the reality is, its still contributing to the destruction of rainforests and the exploitation of workers. For instance, orangutan populations declined at similar rates whether they lived near RSPO-certified or non-certified oil palm plantations. Oil can also smother some small species of fish or invertebrates and coat feathers and fur, reducing birds' and mammals' ability to maintain their body temperatures. The Impact Of Palm Oil Production On Sloths - MudFooted Find out how to slash your risk of Alzheimers, and accelerateyour mental clarity, in theBrainBreakthroughs Masterclass. Palm oil derivatives can even be present in products that are wrongly labelled as palm oil free. A worker at a Malaysian plantation displays some palm fruitsource of the world's most popular edible oil. Palm oil helps in preventing cardiovascular issues. The burning of rainforest lands to make way for oil palms create significant air pollution. The establishment of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)in 2004 set up voluntary guidelines for greener palm oil production and has tried to encourage palm oil expansion in a sustainable way that doesnt ruin primary rain forests or violate the land rights of local people. Illegal logging in Sumatra. Mitchell says that monoculture crops such as oil palm are poor in supporting species. Stopping the expansion of oil palm cultivation is the only way to secure a better future for orangutans and the local ecosystem.. Contributes to global warming. The 12 companies are Colgate-Palmolive, L'Oreal, Hershey, Kellogg's, Kraft, Mars, Mondelez, General Mills, Heinz, Nestl, PepsiCo, Reckitt Benckiser and Unilever. Palm oil does contain some healthy nutrients. Have Humans Evolved to Harm Animals? But its also in pizza, ice cream, breads, crackers,fast foods, cookies, donuts, peanut butter, chocolate, and hazelnut spread (i.e., Nutella), just to name a few. What Is TMAO? Does Palm Oil Have Health Benefits? - gase.tibet.org Deforestations Toll on Wildlife in Borneo and Sumatra. You are always free to easily unsubscribe at any time. Support campaigns for the mandatory labelling of palm oil in food products. While it is imperative to protect and restore precious wildlife habitat and sanction oil palm growers who are clearing forests illegally, the argument for pressuring companies to produce palm oil more responsibly, rather than replacing oil palms with another crop, is very strong. These affiliations support our work and allow us to continue bringing you valuable, life-changing content. Greenhouse gas emissions also result when rainforest is cleared for oil palm plantations. Sign petitions against the production and use of conflict palm oil. In the Peruvian Amazon, large areas that used to be primary forest are now planted with oil palms. The OLT spearheads the PONGO (Palm Oil and NGO) Alliance, which aims to protect orangutan habitat in an oil palm landscape. Palm oil - deforestation for everyday products - Rainforest Rescue In general, oil spills can affect animals and plants in two ways: from the oil itself and from the response or cleanup operations. Palm oil is a common ingredient in margarine and processed foods. And theyre cut down to make room for planting new oil palms. Wilmar, the world's largest palm oil trader, plays a role in the forest undergrowth as it buys . Exposure to the smoke from such fires is estimated to contribute to 339,000 deaths every year in Africa and Southeast Asia. I am lucky that I have the luxury of choice, so I choose a palm oil free lifestyle, but, for the millions of people in developing countries who will never even know why they should boycott palm oil, or arent able to, I choose to lobby companies to switch to using palm oil that has caused no deforestation on their behalf.. And Why Should You Avoid It? High levels of LDL cholesterol can increase the chances of atherosclerosis, which can cause strokes and heart attacks. This type is more often used in traditional cooking in West African countries such as Nigeria. The orangutans are particularly vulnerable, as they depend on large forest areas, and when searching for food they often get lost in the palm oil plantations, where they're seen as pests and destroyed. The main threat to the survival of orangutan populations in the wild is the massive expansion of palm oil plantations in Borneo and Sumatra. But you can eat many other superior foods to get many of the same nutrients. However, the laborers are subject to low wages for long hours of grueling work. 5 Innocent Animals Suffering at the Hands of the Palm Oil Industry Message frequency varies. Theuniqueness, the evolutionary distinctness, and the mosaic of ecosystems that exist in Papua New Guinea and associated islands is what is important: the fabric of life, the tapestry that is becoming threadbare.. Sadly, these rich, biodiverse ecosystems are being destroyed to make way for oil palm plantations at alarming rates. Pressuring the industry to produce palm oil responsibly will regulate the way palm oil is produced. Palm Oil: Everything You Need to Know About Deforestation and More Some companies do produce palm oil without deforestation or draining of peatlands. Click on the image of the animals and it will take you to the page about the animal. Natural forest gives way to monoculture in Peru. It is a bland ecosystem. It's reddish in color, with a distinct odor and flavor. How does palm oil affect the rainforests? - Answers Get answers below! But try going a day . Palm oil: A new threat to Africa's monkeys and apes? - BBC News For school were doing persuasive writing and mine is about palm oil. The industry refutes this by stating that they provide work for local people, which is true. Problems with Palm Oil |The Cost of Production - FoodUnfolded The CEO of International Animal Rescue, Alan Knight,points to the complexity of the palm oil debate. Oil palms are replanted after about 20 - 30 years of growth but the process is highly destructive and drastically changes environmental conditions; it involves using large diggers which are used to obliterate the . Palm oil deforestation in Nigeria. But unfortunately, sustainable palm oil is just as controversial as the industry as a whole. Effects of Palm oil on the Environment; The Truth Behind the Lies Palm oil is the most ubiquitous edible oil on the planet. Instead, the short-term threat from heavy oils comes from their ability to smother organisms whereas over the long-term, some chronic health effects like tumors may result in some organisms. Some dogs have become seriously ill after ingesting palm oil. 3 minute read July 16, 2014. This loss of forest not only translates into enormous greenhouse gas emissions, but also the devastating loss of local biodiversity.