Exposing Palm oil lobbyists Orangutan Land Trust and Agropalma

Estimated reading time: 26 minutes

Orangutan Land Trust palm oil messaging has become a flashpoint in wider debates about greenwashing, industry lobbying, and the defence of so-called “sustainable” palm oil. This article examines Orangutan Land Trust, Agropalma, and palm oil lobbyists through reports and archived online statements linked to land grabbing, corporate ties, and grossly misleading public narratives about the palm oil industry.

Fight back against greenwashing and dirty corruption when you shop always #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife

The @RSPOtweets and #palmoil lobbyists have lied and denied the illegal #landgrabbing of forest from #indigenous owners for 17 years – by RSPO members. #palmoil #greenwashing #FreeWestPapua Boycott4Wildlife

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What the Palm Oil Industry Lobbyists say:

RSPO member, NGO Orangutan Land Trust is the main shill on social media pushing greenwashing misinformation about “sustainable” palm oil to unaware consumers.

For decades, they have consistently pushed the lie of “sustainable” palm oil as being the saviour for rainforests, indigenous people and rare, endangered animals. Their greenwashing occurs despite a continuous stream of research papers and reports from many different sources showing that “sustainable” palm oil is a complete lie. Over almost 20 years, the following crimes continue to occur by RSPO members:

• Human rights abuses
• Deforestation by fire
• The killing of endangered species
• Slavery/Child slavery/the death of children
• Indigenous Landgrabbing
• Rape and sexual assault

The lies are perpetuated by three main accounts: Michelle Desilets, Jane Griffiths and Bart Van Assen. They are supported by various other accounts associated with Zoos sponsored by big food companies like Ferrero and also fake accounts that they set up themselves in an effort to astroturf about “sustainable” palm oil.

Lies have got short legs on the internet

Individuals on Twitter who promote “sustainable” palm oil have paid links to the palm oil industry in almost every single case. Find out who these people are on Twitter

Supermarket giants sourcing from BBF and Agropalma: links to violence and torture

Two Brazilian palm oil giants in particular, Brasil Biofuels (BBF) and Agropalma, are embroiled in long-standing conflict with local communities. BBF are accused of waging violent campaigns to silence Indigenous and traditional communities defending their ancestral lands, while Agropalma is linked to fraudulent land grabs and stranding or evicting communities. Both companies have acquired these lands to grow profitable palm crops, apparently at the expense of communities’ constitutional rights.

Agropalma states that its corporate policies forbid actions inhibiting legal and regular activities of Human Rights Defenders, while maintaining Agropalma’s right to protect its employees and its assets. Agropalma denies using violent actions against the communities and individuals in this report, and states that there are no land claims by Indigenous people overlapping with Agropalma lands.

Major international brands – ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Danone, Ferrero, Hershey’s, Kellogg, Mondelez, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and others – continue to purchase palm oil from BBF and/or Agropalma despite the situation in Pará, contributing to the violations of Indigenous and traditional peoples’ rights. Companies’ responses are included below.

A litany of abuses

Global Witness received information of continued abuses in late April 2022 and early July 2022, attributed to armed men alleged to be working on behalf of BBF.

• Groups of armed men have blockaded multiple roads around Indigenous, Quilombola and riverine territories.
• Armed men have been stopping and searching cars and people on motorcycles saying they are ‘on the hunt’ for Indigenous and Quilombola leaders.
• Armed men have tortured detained members of an Indigenous community by spilling burning plastic over their backs.
• Armed men have shot and injured at least one Indigenous community member; several have been made to lie down, humiliated and had shots fired near their heads.
• Armed men forced a Quilombola man and a teenager who were working on their crops to lay on the floor, firing shots next to their heads, causing both serious hearing problems.
• Daily and nightly, community members are stopped, questioned and humiliated by BBF employees and/or security men.

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Orangutan Land Trust receives funding from Agropalma: during their decades long destruction of the Amazon for palm oil

Orangutan Land Trust mentions fellow RSPO member Agropalma as being a sponsor and funder on their website and annual ACOP ( a report given to the RSPO) in 2014. Agropalma are listed on the OLT website until 2019.

“With Agropalma’s generous support, we can enable conservation activities in Indonesia and Malaysia that will not only help to protect the orangutan, but also all the biodiversity that shares its rainforest habitat”.

Michelle Desilets of Orangutan Land Trust, quoted in the 2015 Agropalma Sustainability Report and on the Agropalma website, their full sustainability report is here.

From 2014- 2022 Orangutan Land Trust promote Agropalma on Twitter and elsewhere as offering “sustainable” palm oil

A report by the Palm Oil Innovation Group (POIG) on their website between 2014-2020 reveals that Agropalma have been paying Orangutan Land Trust 10,000 GBP per quarter. Read report

In 2022, Agropalma were the subject of a 2022 Global Witness report into the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and violence against indigenous land defenders. Read report

Between 2015 -2020, Agropalma were assessed by the RSPO’s Complaints Panel for human rights abuses. This panel includes Orangutan Land Trust’s Executive Director Michelle Desilets as a decision maker.

In 2020, the RSPO ruled in favour of Agropalma and against the human rights defenders and closed the case. Read letter

In March 2023, Mongabay and Rainforest Rescue reported that Agropalma’s RSPO membership had been temporarily suspended due to Mongabay and Global Witness’s reporting on these human rights abuses

Two months after this in May 2023, the South American conference for RSPO featured Agropalma’s logo emblazoned on the stage and promoted Agropalma as being “sustainable” despite countless concurrent news reports of their human rights abuses and landgrabbing

Continuamos la jornada @RSPOtweets Conferencia Interamericana 2023 con Francisco Naranjo moderando conversación sobre profundizar el impacto de la certificación #palmasostenible @APSColombiaCorp @CenipalmaOrg @FedepalmaOrg https://t.co/vr0m3eXZkL pic.twitter.com/HtpDqOmaFA

— Andres Felipe Garcia (@afgarciaazuero) May 30, 2023

Pictured: Art by Jo Frederiks