Learn ten marketing and PR tactics used for “sustainble” palm oil greenwashing to justify endless growth by the palm oil industry. Boycott palm oil now!
Category Archives: The Problems with Palm Oil
Greenwashing Tactic #1: Hidden Trade Off
When a brand makes token changes while continuing with deforestation, ecocide or human rights abuses in another part of their business – this is ‘Hidden Trade Off’
For example, Nestle talks up satellite monitoring to stop palm oil deforestation. Yet their deforestation continues to accelerate in spite of this – this is ‘Hidden Trade-Off”
Greenwashing Tactic #2: No Proof
Greenwashing Tactic 5. Palm oil companies make environmental claims without providing proof or evidence of these claims or using spurious evidence.
Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels
Claiming a brand or commodity is green based on unreliable, ineffective endorsements or eco-labels such as the RSPO, Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or FairTrade coffee and cocoa. Greenwashing: Fake Labels and fake certifications Ecolabels are designed to reassure consumers that they are purchasing green or sustainable products. In reality the environmental standards are no betterContinue reading “Greenwashing Tactic #4: Fake Labels”
Greenwashing Tactic #6: The Lesser of Two Evils
Claiming that a brand, commodity or industry is greener than others in the same category, in order to excuse ecocide, deforestation, human rights and animal rights abuses. Jump to section Greenwashing: Lesser of Two Evils: Palm Oil Uses Less Land Than Other Crops Greenwashing messaging is pervasive by researchers Greenwashing messaging is pervasive on socialContinue reading “Greenwashing Tactic #6: The Lesser of Two Evils”
What is greenwashing?
Learn how consumerism was engineered to fuel a hunger for more stuff and how greenwashing now masks true environmental harm. Discover the facts.
Greenwashing Tactic 9: Partnerships, Sponsorships and Research Funding
Greenwashing Tactic 9. Corporations use NGOs, Zoo partnerships, sponsorships, and research funding to give an industry or brand a ‘green image.
Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness
Claiming a brand or commodity is ‘green’ or ‘sustainable’ based on broad generalisations, unclear language or vague statements Jump to section Greenwashing: Vagueness in Language Greenwashing: Vagueness in certification standards Reality: Auditing of RSPO a failure Quote: EIA: Who Watches the Watchmen 2 (2019) Quote: Greenpeace: Destruction Certified (2021) Quote: EIA: Burning Questions the CredibilityContinue reading “Greenwashing Tactic #3: Vagueness”
Greenwashing Tactic #7: Lying
Greenwashing lies are falsifying support from authorities to back up claims or using spurious research data to back up the greenwashing, boycott palm oil!
Species Extinction: just how bad is it and why should we care?
This is arguably society’s biggest challenge, and arguably its biggest failure: the continuing loss of species from Earth. The massive impact we are having on the planet has firmly entrenched us in a period of our history commonly called the Anthropocene.
Background or “normal” rates of extinction vary through time but are typically in the order of one to two species per year. Current rates of extinction, however, are estimated to have reached 1000 to 10,000 times this rate. Help animals to survive when you shop and be #Vegan 🌿🍌🍇 #Boycottpalmoil 🌴🩸🤮☠️#Boycott4Wildlife
Research: Boycotts Are Worthwhile and Effective
Despite sustained and vigorous attempts by corporates and industry certification schemes like RSPO, MSC and FSC to downplay the impact and effectiveness of consumer boycotts, it turns out that boycotts are impactful and drive social change. They force profit-first and greedy corporations to change their ways and do better. They also create a tangible sense of empowerment and agency for consumer-citizens who want to participate in civil society in a meaningful way in improving the world, both as individuals and in collective groups.
Greenwashing Tactic 8: Design & Words
Greenwashing Tactic 8. Companies use design principles and subliminal language to signal ‘greenness’ and trigger unconscious emotional responses in consumers
Greenwashing Tactic #5: Irrelevance and Deflection
Learn how lobbyists use irrelevant information and deflection to shift the conversation away from their environmental harms, e.g. “sustainable” palm oil.
Africa’s rainforests are different. Why it matters that they’re protected
Around 2 million km² of #Africa is covered by tropical #rainforests. They are second only in extent to those in #Amazonia, which cover around 6 million km². Rainforests are home to vast numbers of species of #primates #birds #insects and more. For example, the world’s tropical rainforests are estimated to be home to at least 40,000 tree species, with up to 6,000 in African forests. Protect all rainforests before it’s too late, every time you shop use your wallet as a weapon and be #Vegan #BoycottPalmOil #Boyott4Wildlife
Demand for meat is driving deforestation in Brazil – changing the soy industry could stop it
For many people, soy as a commodity has a pretty innocuous reputation thanks to its association with vegan food and meat alternatives. However don’t be fooled – crops of this pale legume are behind much of Brazil’s epidemic of deforestation. Much more #soy is fed to farm animals that people eat than is used in vegan food. Since 2000, #Brazil has doubled its total area of soy plantation to 36 million hectares and become the world’s largest producer. This expansion has erased vast swathes of forest and other habitats in some of the country’s most biodiverse regions. Soy, along with palm oil and meat deforestation are the biggest land-hungry commodities in South America and threaten the world’s largest rainforest biosphere. Help fight against this ecocide every time you shop, be #vegan #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
A global juggling act: feeding the world, saving species
Our planet is on the precipice of a sixth mass extinction event. But unlike the five previous mass extinctions, this one is man-made: a global biodiversity crisis in which species are disappearing three to 12 times faster than the “normal” rate of extinction. A massive driver of this extinction is how humans eat. Be #Vegan for the animals #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Palm Oil Lobbyists Getting Caught Lying Orangutan Land Trust and Agropalma
For decades, investigative journalists have been exposing that illegal land grabbing from Indigenous peoples as a regular occurrence in West Papua, South and Central America, Africa and Asia. Indigenous people’s land is being forcibly (and often violently) taken from them by predatory palm oil companies. Major supermarket brands and also palm oil producers that areContinue reading “Palm Oil Lobbyists Getting Caught Lying Orangutan Land Trust and Agropalma”
One-fifth of reptiles heading towards extinction
Almost one-fifth of the world’s reptiles are currently threatened with extinction.A recent study assessed 1500 species for extinction risks. From the 19% found to be in danger, 12% were classified as Critically Endangered, 41% as Endangered and 47% Vulnerable. Three of the species listed as being Critically Endangered are believed to be possibly extinct. ThisContinue reading “One-fifth of reptiles heading towards extinction”
Forgotten Animals of Secretly Destroyed Forests
Don’t let the forests go silent! 1000’s of forgotten animals are nearing extinction due to palm oil deforestation. Take action and boycott palm oil today!
The rise of ultra-processed foods and why they’re really bad for our health
Unlike traditionally produced foods humans have been making for many millennia, ultra-processed foods contain ingredients to prolong their shelf-life and artificially augment the food’s taste or texture. This occurs at the expense of nutritional value and as a result, human populations with a high consumption of ultra processed foods like palm oil, saturated fats and refined sugar are at high risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity along with increased mortality risk from cardiovascular disease, #stroke, #dementia and gastrointestinal #cancer. Take action for your #health and #BoycottPalmOil
Climate Explained: what would happen if we cut down the Amazon rainforest?
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 currently stored in the Amazon, the world’s largest rainforest. But the consequences would be far-reaching for the climate as well as biodiversity and ecosystems — and, ultimately, people. Fight for animals, indigenous peoples and the planet itself #BoycottPalmOil #BoycottGold and #Boycott4Wildlife
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”
Ecosystems could collapse in less than 50 years
We know that ecosystems under stress can reach a point where they rapidly collapse into something very different. Research published in the journal Nature Communications, shows that the size of the ecosystem is important. Once a “tipping point” is triggered, large ecosystems could collapse much faster than we had thought possible. It’s a finding that has worrying implications for the functioning of our planet. Fight back and resist for nature when you shop be #vegan and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
We don’t know how many mountain gorillas live in the wild. Here’s why
How important are the mountain #gorillas of Uganda’s Bwindi Impenetrable Forest National Park to global populations? Their importance to the health of the forest is immeasurable and irreplacable! Mountain gorillas are one of the two subspecies of eastern gorillas. They are divided into just two populations: one in the Virunga Massif that spans the borders of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and one population that lives in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda and the adjacent Sarambwe Nature Reserve in DRC. Help them to survive, be #vegan and #BoycottPalmOil #Boycott4Wildlife
Video: Slowing deforestation is the key to preventing the next pandemic – but what does that cost?
Les Kaufman, Boston University In a recent journal article, a team of biologists, medical scientists, environmental scientists and conservationists proposed a number of measures to reduce the likelihood of future pandemics, many of which originate with wild animals such as bats. They argue that spending billions of dollars per year – a fraction of theContinue reading “Video: Slowing deforestation is the key to preventing the next pandemic – but what does that cost?”
Nature’s Hidden Wealth: Conservation’s Opportunity
Animals and plants constitute a very small part of our native biodiversity (roughly 5%). The vast majority – fungi, bacteria and the enormous diversity of other microscopic organisms, including invertebrates – is a massive, largely unexplored economic resource.
The best known examples of commercial uses for biodiversity are the thousands of drugs secreted by bacteria and fungi. But others are examples of what is known as “bio-inspiration” and “bio-mimicry”, where wild species provide the blueprints for products. The combination of nature and biotechnology can offer us all a tentative reason to hope for the future.
Humans force wild animals into tight spots, or send them far from home
The COVID pandemic has shown us that disruptions to the way we move around, complete daily activities and interact with each other can shatter our wellbeing. This doesn’t apply only to humans. Wildlife across the globe find themselves in this situation every day, irrespective of a global pandemic. Our latest research published today in NatureContinue reading “Humans force wild animals into tight spots, or send them far from home”
The Coronavirus Crisis: How has Lockdown Impacted Nature?
I think we can all agree that 2020 has been a very strange year. Thanks to coronavirus, modern life as we know it has been put on hold. International borders have been shut, governments have ordered businesses to close their doors, and most families have been under lockdown. For anyone wondering where this infectious virusContinue reading “The Coronavirus Crisis: How has Lockdown Impacted Nature?”
Explainer: What is a tipping point, and why should we care?
Lately, you may have heard someone say that we have reached a “tipping point.” Recently, we have witnessed dramatic shifts in our social and economic states of being. Our ability to understand and act thoughtfully around this single concept could determine the fate of life on Earth. Help reverse the upheavals and tipping points every time you shop #Boycott4Wildlife
What would happen if we lost all wildlife?
Have you ever thought about what would happen if we lost all our wildlife? Thoughts on what our planet will turn into, always make my stomach hurt. Can you imagine having no wildlife anywhere? The scary rate that extinction is taking away our wildlife The rate is crazily high and we seem not to really understand howContinue reading “What would happen if we lost all wildlife?”
Palm Oil Detectives 