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.
Tag Archives: Palm Oil News
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”
The people versus Feronia: Fighting palm oil agrocolonialism in the Congo
This incredible comic was created by Didier Kassai with research by Judith Verweijen and Dieudonne Botoko Kendewa of the University of Sussex and the University of Sheffield. The comic was originally posted by Cartoon Movement. The comic is based on field research conducted around the Feronia palm oil plantation in Tshopo province in north-east DR Congo.Continue reading “The people versus Feronia: Fighting palm oil agrocolonialism in the Congo”
PepsiCo
Despite decades of promises to end deforestation for palm oil PepsiCo (owner of crisp brands Frito-Lay and Doritos amongst hundreds of other snack food brands) have continued sourcing palm oil that causes ecocide, indigenous landgrabbing, and the habitat destruction of the rarest animals on earth. All of these animals are on a knife-edge of survival.Continue reading “PepsiCo”
Procter & Gamble
Despite decades of promises to end deforestation for palm oil Procter & Gamble or (P&G as they are also known) have continued sourcing palm oil that causes ecocide, indigenous landgrabbing, and the habitat destruction of the rarest animals on earth. All of these animals are on a knife-edge of survival. It is for this reason,Continue reading “Procter & Gamble”
2021 Research: Outbreaks of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases are linked to changes in forest cover and palm oil global expansion
Deforestation is a major cause of biodiversity loss with a negative impact on human health. Outbreaks of vector-borne diseases such as COVID-19 are associated with increases in areas of palm oil plantations. A major 2021 study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science examined whether global scale loss and gain of forest cover and the rise ofContinue reading “2021 Research: Outbreaks of vector-borne and zoonotic diseases are linked to changes in forest cover and palm oil global expansion”
Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small: study
Palm oil plantations have an overall negative impact on biodiversity, according to research released this week. The study, published in Nature Communications, found palm oil plantations are home to fewer insect species than even intensive rubber tree plantations. A forests expert at James Cook University, Bill Laurance, said of the research: “The big message isContinue reading “Palm oil plantations are bad for wildlife great and small: study”
As palm oil production ramps up in Africa, communities work to avoid problems plaguing other regions
For many, palm oil has become synonymous with environmental devastation in Southeast Asia. Can palm oil production in Africa follow a more sustainable path forward? March 26, 2019 — For many consumers, palm oil has become synonymous with environmental devastation in Southeast Asia. The industry has brought mass deforestation to the region, shrunk orangutan habitatContinue reading “As palm oil production ramps up in Africa, communities work to avoid problems plaguing other regions”
Palm Oil Detectives 