Orangutans are facing such dire straits these days, and it may very well be because of your peanut butter, crackers, ice cream, breakfast bars, and cookies. We’ve begun to be conditioned about the issues surrounding high fructose corn syrup, but the issues of another rampant packaged food additive, palm oil, are more than just hidden calories. To harvest the palm trees for palm oil, rainforest ecosystems are being clearcut, and that is driving orangutans to the brink of extinction in Borneo and Malaysia. The issue is getting worse, not better, as palm oil is being used to replace trans fats in more and more foods. Desire for better health, however, needn’t decimate other species.
Sign the petition to demand that food companies source palm oil from non-conflcit regions. Read labels (not all palm oil is the bad stuff–look for the term “responsible palm oil.” Believe me, if they use it, they will crow about it on the label!) Even the Girl Scout Cookies making the rounds these days use palm oil–but if enough of us use our buying power and influence to advocate for change…it it attainable. Here’s proof: Mars candy company is ceasing using palm oil from any suppliers involved in the destruction or rainforest and peatland habitats. That is huge action from a huge company…and Kellogg’s is likely to make a similar announcement soon!
You can help save our red relatives, and taking action is simple.
Click below for a video from the Rainforest Action Network
Change by Doing 