Consumers, businesses and researchers have shown growing interest in microalgae in recent years. Use of Arthrospira platensis (spirulina) as a food supplement is one example. Others include how microalgae can be used as crop support tools, bioplastics or biofuels. Agriculture is destroying the planet: algae is the answer The emerging and predicted impacts on agricultureContinue reading “Soy and palm oil agriculture is destroying the planet: algae is the answer”
Category Archives: Palm Oil, Deforestation, Fires & Ecocide
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil: 19 years is enough
For nearly two decades now, the RSPO has failed in its mission to make the industrial palm oil sector “sustainable”. Instead, it has been used by the palm oil industry to greenwash environmental destruction, labour and human rights abuses and land grabbing.
Amazon Palm: Global brands continue to source palm oil from Amazon destroyers Agropalma & BBF
Major international brands sourcing palm oil from Brazilian plantations linked to violence, torture and land fraud. Global supermarket brands Ferrero, ADM, Bunge, Cargill, Danone, Ferrero, Hershey’s, Kellogg, Mondelez, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Unilever and many others source palm oil from Agropalma and BBF.
These supermarket brands along with Agropalma and BBF claim to use “sustainable” palm oil from the RSPO. A story by Global Witness. #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife
Land-grabbing and the climate crisis are strongly linked to palm oil
A corporate monopoly for control over land and resources for palm oil must be dismantled immediately to give humanity, animals and our natural world a fighting chance for survival and to reverse the climate crisis. In Asia, many indigenous peoples are now joining forces and rising up to resist this corruption and ecocide.
The Washington Post recommends that you boycott palm oil in 2022 and beyond
The original version of this article was published as ‘How to Make More Socially Conscious Halloween Candy Choices in The Washington Post on the 14th of October 2022. Originally written by Allyson Chiu and was republished via syndication by MSN While chocolate is a crowd-pleaser, the ubiquitous candy “has some pretty close associations with twoContinue reading “The Washington Post recommends that you boycott palm oil in 2022 and beyond”
What is causing the latest outbreak of Ebola in Uganda?
The answers to preventing future zoonotic diseases are staring us right in the face: we should stop eating animals and consuming animal products and we should stop destroying rainforests for palm oil, soy and other crops! Many research papers and books have been written about the connection between the relentless capitalist growth imperative of multinationalContinue reading “What is causing the latest outbreak of Ebola in Uganda?”
Without tropical forests, global temperatures would be 1°c warmer
Lausanne, Switzerland (24 March)—New research released today offers the most comprehensive and detailed evidence to date that forests are more important to the climate (globally and locally) than we think due to the way in which they physically transform the atmosphere. The first-ever research to pinpoint the local, regional and global non-carbon dioxide benefits ofContinue reading “Without tropical forests, global temperatures would be 1°c warmer”
Palm oil industry lobbying and greenwashing is like Big Tobacco – World Health Organisation (WHO) Bulletin
What does the $60 billion USD palm oil industry have in common with Big Tobacco? A lot according to this report by the World Health Organisation. Palm oil industry lobbying tactics are used to influence research into the health impacts of palm oil and also to influence consumer buying habits. The dire health and environmental impacts of palm oil are hidden from consumers by clever marketing. These lobbying, marketing and greenwashing tactics are reminiscent of tobacco and alcohol health lobbying.
Why Peanut Butter Might Trigger the Next Pandemic
Palm oil is found in roughly 50 percent of packaged household products ranging from peanut butter to lipstick. Now, researchers link its harvesting to disease outbreaks that could spread to humans. This is the first study to examine the cause-and-effect relationship between changes in forest cover and subsequent disease outbreaks on a global scale.
Treespiracy: Forests are being destroyed against a background of corruption, illegality and apathy
The world’s forests are being destroyed against a background of corruption, illegality and apathy. This article was originally published in The Ecologist magazine, 28th March, 2022 A complex web of financial instruments allowing crime, corruption and wrong-doing, hidden behind shell corporations and offshore companies was exposed with the release of the Panama Papers. This shadow networkContinue reading “Treespiracy: Forests are being destroyed against a background of corruption, illegality and apathy”
10 reasons why ecolabels & commodity certification will never be a solution for importing tropical deforestation
In 2022, 71 environmental and human rights groups from around the world wrote to the EU Commission to warn that certification schemes and ecolabels were not sufficient to prevent human rights abuses and deforestation from entering the European Union. Thankfully in 2023 this has come to pass.
Fast forward to 2023, in the UK, industry lobbyists including Ferrero and serial greenwashing outfit Orangutan Land Trust have watered down the UK’s commitment to not importing deforestation into the UK. The new trade deal with Malaysia paves the way for mass importation of palm oil ecocide.
RSPO and FSC have been shown for decades to be ineffective and corrupt. They have failed in preventing human rights abuses, illegal land-grabbing, violence, deforestation, ecocide and species extinction.
So here are 10 reasons that UK should not rely on weak and ineffective certification schemes to enforce its zero deforestation mandate. Originally published by GRAIN
Nigeria’s nature reserves need more help to protect biodiversity
Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment recently nominated Finima Nature Park in River State as a Ramsar site: a wetland of international importance. Tajudeen Amusa, University of Ilorin These sites are designated under the Ramsar Convention, an intergovernmental environmental treaty established in 1971 by UNESCO. It aims to protect representative, rare or unique wetlands, or thoseContinue reading “Nigeria’s nature reserves need more help to protect biodiversity”
Ecocide: why establishing a new international crime would be a step towards interspecies justice
A movement of activists and legal scholars is seeking to make “ecocide” an international crime within the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Stop Ecocide Foundation has put together a prestigious international panel of experts that has just proposed a new definition of the term. Heather Alberro, Nottingham Trent University and Luigi Daniele,Continue reading “Ecocide: why establishing a new international crime would be a step towards interspecies justice”
New research: Indirect sourcing of up to 90% of palm oil from Cargill, Wilmar, Musim Mas cannot be traced and is linked to deforestation
New research: Indirect sourcing of up to 90% of palm oil from Cargill, Wilmar, Musim Mas cannot be traced and is linked to deforestation
How deforestation helps deadly viruses jump from animals to humans
Amy Y. Vittor, University of Florida; Gabriel Zorello Laporta, Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, and Maria Anice Mureb Sallum, Universidade de São Paulo Many pandemics originate from wildlife that jumps from animal to human. These leaps often happen at the edges of the world’s tropical forests, where deforestation is increasingly bringing people into contact withContinue reading “How deforestation helps deadly viruses jump from animals to humans”
Almost 90% of the world’s animal species will lose some habitat to agriculture by 2050
David Williams, University of Leeds and Michael Clark, University of Oxford Scientists know that biodiversity is declining across much of the world although less universally and dramatically than we feared. We also know that things are likely to get worse in the future, with a combination of habitat loss, climate change and overexploitation set toContinue reading “Almost 90% of the world’s animal species will lose some habitat to agriculture by 2050”
Deforestation can raise local temperatures by up to 4.5℃ – and heat untouched areas 6km away
Sally Thompson, The University of Western Australia; Débora Corrêa, The University of Western Australia; John Duncan, The University of Western Australia, and Octavia Crompton, Duke University Forests directly cool the planet, like natural evaporative air conditioners. So what happens when you cut them down? In tropical countries such as Indonesia, Brazil and the Congo, rapidContinue reading “Deforestation can raise local temperatures by up to 4.5℃ – and heat untouched areas 6km away”
Africa’s rainforests are different. Why it matters that they’re protected
Discover why Africa’s rainforests are unique and crucial for global biodiversity. Learn about the threats they face and the importance of protecting these vital ecosystems. #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Climate Explained: what would happen if we cut down the Amazon rainforest?
Sebastian Leuzinger, Auckland University of Technology What would happen if we cut down the entire Amazon rainforest? Could it be replaced by an equal amount of reforestation elsewhere? Removing the entire Amazon rainforest would have myriad consequences, with the most obvious ones possibly not the worst. Most people will first think of the carbon currentlyContinue reading “Climate Explained: what would happen if we cut down the Amazon rainforest?”
How plywood started the destruction of Indonesia’s forests
Indonesia now has the has the fastest rate of deforestation in the world, driven largely by clearing for palm oil plantations. But the process began long ago, with one of the most common building materials: plywood. As far as commodities are concerned, it was plywood that defined the rainforests of Borneo in the 1970s andContinue reading “How plywood started the destruction of Indonesia’s forests”
Palm Oil Detectives 