Thanks to the folks over at EcoLocalizer for bringing a recent ad campaign by the Malaysian Palm Oil Council to our attention.
Palm oil is a common ingredient in food and cosmetics, and is sometimes used as a substitute for hydrogenated oil. Using Palm oil makes food trans fat-free, however palm oil is still a saturated fat, which is bad for you. In fact, last April some Girl Guides in Michigan refused to sell Girl Guide cookies because they contained palm oil.
Unfortunately, according to many sources, palm oil can be extremely destructive to rain forests, as the diverse forest is cut down or burned for palm tree plantations. Palm Oil is also considered to be "the greatest current threat to Orangutans" according to the Australian Orangutan Project, since palm oil plantations are replacing their rainforest habitat.
While there has also been some efforts to produce palm oil more sustainably, concern about rainforest being destroyed for palm oil plantations is still a very current concern, as you can read here, here and here.
What Can I Do?
There is a petition that you can sign that should take no more than a few minutes to send.
The letter will be sent to over 300 companies, requesting that they discontinue using palm oil in their products. Some of the companies include Kellogg's, Heinz, Cadbury, Campbell Soup and Kraft.
You can sign the petition here: http://ga3.org/campaign/palmcompanies
Note: You can edit the petition before it is sent to the companies.
Also, when you are in the grocery store, maybe take a few seconds to read the ingredients list on what you are buying. If it lists "palm oil", "palm kernel oil" or "palmitate", you may want to choose a different product - your body, our air, and the Orangutans may thank you.
Image by Aziez Ahmed
