Cholesterol is among the most feared substances, but why? You need cholesterol to produce some hormones and to build vital structures in your body. But too much-referred to as high cholesterol-can build up in your arteries and lead to heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. That’s why it’s important to get tested and knowContinue reading “Four Things to Know about Cholesterol”
Tag Archives: research
Reasons to Hope: Palm Oil Alternatives Made Without Deforestation
Environmental organisation Milieudefensie have calculated that every second, around 169 trees are cut down in tropical rainforests. So the race is on to find a real solution to stop this! Right now, several new technologies are furiously competing with each other to create a healthier, lab-created alternatives to palm oil. Palm oil has been historically grown inContinue reading “Reasons to Hope: Palm Oil Alternatives Made Without Deforestation”
Anthropologist and author of ‘In the Shadow of the Palms’ Dr Sophie Chao: In Her Own Words
Dr Sophie Chao is an environmental anthropologist and environmental humanities scholar interested in the intersections of capitalism, ecology, Indigeneity, health, and justice in the Pacific.
Palm Oil Detectives is honoured to interview to Dr Sophie Chao about her research into the impacts of palm oil on the daily lives of Marind people and other sentient beings in West Papua.
I wrote In the Shadow of the Palms because I wanted the world to understand how deforestation and industrial oil palm expansion are undermining Indigenous ways of being in West Papua.
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.
Research: Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa
Research by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission found that although oil palm cultivation represents an important source of income for many tropical countries, its future expansion is a primary threat to tropical forests and biodiversity. In this context, and especially in regions where industrial palm oil production is still emerging, identifying “areasContinue reading “Research: Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa”
How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy
What is a Steady State Economy? A Steady State Economy is a mildly fluctuating economy that does not exceed ecological and planetary limits. A Steady State Economy is not an alternative economic ideology that is centred on endless GDP growth. It is neither capitalism nor communism. Economic growth, with all of its downsides, is clearlyContinue reading “How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy”
Zoologist and TV Presenter Dr George McGavin: In His Own Words
Dr George McGavin FLS FRGS Hon. FSB Hon. FRES studied Zoology at Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD in entomology at Imperial College and the Natural History Museum in London. After 25 years as an academic at Oxford University he became an award-winning television presenter. George is an Honorary Research Associate of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History and an Honorary Principal Research Fellow at Imperial College. George is also a Fellow of the Linnean Society and the Royal Geographical Society, an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Biology and an Honorary Life Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society. As well as his many TV documentaries, George has written numerous books on insects and other animals. In 2019 he became the President of the Dorset Wildlife Trust.
Research about boycotts: do they work and why participate in them?
Corporates, certification lobbyists and all individuals with a financial stake in the profitability of corporate entities will naturally decry that boycotts are a waste of time and ineffective. However, is this true? Here is some research Do boycotts work? Answer: Yes…they do indeed! The #Boycott4Wildlife’s 9,000+ people who are passionate animal lovers and defenders ofContinue reading “Research about boycotts: do they work and why participate in them?”
Dayak Indigenous Ethnographer Dr Setia Budhi: In His Own Words
Dr Setia Budhi is a senior lecturer in Anthropology and Sociology at Universitas Lambung Mangkurat. He is an indigenous advocate, forest conservationist and a research specialist in Dayak ethnography in South, Central and East Kalimantan. He completed his PhD in 2010 at UKM Malaysia under the supervision of Prof. Awang Hasmadi Awang Moeis and Prof. Aishah Bt Mohamed. He now serves as Head of the Sociology Department and a member of the Indonesian Anthropology Association of South Kalimantan-Indonesia.
His research relates to the Dayak people and impact of socio-cultural changes, exploitation of natural resources and modernisation on their lives. In particular, he investigates how the depletion of the forest affects the availability of food sources for Indigenous Dayak peoples.
Primatologist Cleve Hicks on Chimpanzee cultures, Palm Oil deforestation in His Own Words
Dr Hicks speaks with Palm Oil Detectives about his chimpanzee research, veganism, deforestation, palm oil and what consumers can do to help the endangered animals of Africa.
Palm Oil Detectives 