The Palm Oil Dilemma (published in Living Vegan magazine)

Flying over Sabah, in East Malaysian Borneo there stands row after row of palm oil plantation, engulfing the countryside and swallowing the rich diversity of the famous jungle. These plantations have eaten away at a continent once ample in species, its diversity stunted by the small red palm oil fruit whose popularity has e tended to all reaches of the world. The rains have ceased and the animals are scarce, and once abundant jungle has disappeared into desolate plantation! an inhospitable environment whose only inhabitants are cobras and rats. "t has been labelled by critics as environmental #rmageddon. The palm oil industry$s decimation of delicate ecosystems and biodiversity has swept from the plains of #frica to the lush jungle of Borneo, overwhelming the worlds oldest forest and devastating fragile species. Since palm oils discovery in %&'&, plantations have sprouted across Sumatra and Borneo, the ripe fruit of the oil palm soiling the countryside, yielding up to ten times more oil per hectare than sunflowers, rapeseed or soybeans. The product is now one of the most ubi(uitous vegetable oils on earth, and can be found in food, cosmetics and household products, as well as being touted as a biofuel. The %)&*s witnessed a remar+able transformation of Borneo$s landscape! forests were levelled at a rate unparalleled in human history, ma+ing way for the oil palm that ultimately set the forest and its inhabitants on a path to e tinction. ,ow, Malaysia and "ndonesia are the biggest palm oil suppliers -supplying &./ of the world$s palm oil0 and subse(uently one of the worlds biggest carbon dio ide emitters. Environmental conscience ran+s low to both countries, who are generating wealth at an unprecedented level! their burgeoning economic power lifting millions out of poverty. The situation is convoluted and rife with corruption. Borneo possesses a vast, sullied playing field where companies log forests both legally and illegally. This e cess of illegal logging induces savage forest fires, poaching, wildlife trade and incarceration! igniting a conservation emergency of global proportions. 1riminal activity in these areas is largely unpunished! boundaries between legal and illegal actions are blurred so that palm oil is distributed and consumed by the masses, with no definitive awareness of the lin+ bac+ to the orphaned and displaced animals that are victims of torture, incarceration or death at the hands of palm oil companies. 2nited ,ations Environment 3rogramme -2,E30 has estimated that 456&&/ of all timber logged in "ndonesia is illegal, irrevocably harming the entire framewor+ and purpose of protected forest areas worldwide. The most curious of the jungle wildlife is the orang6utan, or 73erson of the Forest$ in Malay. 8isconcertingly similar to humans, their vulnerability and gentle nature are both an attraction and novelty to humanity, who covet them, concurrently protecting them and torturing them in their (uest to consume natures greenery. #t the forefront of the effort to preserve the orang6utan is Sepilo+ 9rang62tan :ehabilitation 1entre -S9:10. The centre lies on the edge of virgin rainforest, a sprawling development funded by Sabah ;ildlife 8epartment that has been wor+ing tirelessly for '& years trying to put displaced orphans bac+ into the jungle. The centre is primarily home to the famous orang6utan, though it also houses the largely

un+nown and endangered Borneo Sun Bear whose fame, unfortunately has not reached worldwide proportions li+e the orang6utan. The orang6utan rehabilitation process is long and difficult. The majority of cases are rescued from plantations as infants and will spent the ne t 56. years being raised by humans! learning to climb, search for food and generally fend for themselves until they are strong enough to ma+e it in the wild. Since inception, S9:1 has rehabilitated over 4** orang6utans! some have bred, some have perished alone in the jungle, some have wandered bac+ to the centre and are now lur+ing around every corner, stealing tourist camera$s and food, both distressing and delighting the visitors. 9rang6utans across the world are e ploited, +ept as pets, used as se slaves, +illed in plantations, and in some areas, eaten. Efforts are being made to rescue and rehabilitate them, but there are still a multitude of species whose habitats and lives are destroyed in the (uest for financial gains. 9rang6utan rescue and rehabilitation is notably successful, however, as a government run enterprise, it must balance the e ploitation of the orang6utan -by way of touristic attraction0 with rehabilitation. #part from primate genocide, the rapacious logging across Borneo has threatened many other native "ndonesian and Malaysian animal species, such as the Sumatran tiger, #sian rhinoceros, Sumatran rhinoceros, Bornean sun bear, pygmy elephant, clouded leopard and proboscis mon+ey. # se(uence of national and international initiatives have been implemented in response to this crisis, however, the situation must be recognised as a state of emergency and more needs to be done immediately, rather than planning long term. Much of the forests across Borneo have already been logged, and most of the species have become endangered as a result of this. The time to act is now. ,atalie <yriacou ================================== ======. What you can do: 6 >et involved and support forest6building initiatives and projects -?isit http@AAwww.(i6global.comAwillie6smits for information on an innovative project ta+ing place in Borneo0 6 >et involved in conservation projects 6 Tal+ to major companies6 convince them to ma+e greener choices. Be aware of some of the different names in which palm oil is listed under@ 6?egetable 9il 6?egetable Fat 6Sodium Baureth Sulfate -in almost everything that foams0 6Sodium Bauryl Sulfate 6Sodium 8odecyl Sulphate -S8S or ,a8S0 63alm <ernel 63alm 9il <ernel

63alm Fruit 9il 63almate 63almitate 63almolein 6>lyceryl Stearate 6Stearic #cid 6Elaeis >uineensis 63almitic #cid 63alm Stearine 63almitoyl o ostearamide 63almitoyl tetrapeptide65 6Steareth 6Sodium <ernelate 6Sodium 3alm <ernelate 6Sodium Bauryl BactylateASulphate 6Sodium Bauryl Sulfoacetate 6Cyrated 3alm >lycerides 6Sodium "sostearoyl Bactylaye 61etyl 3almitate 69ctyl 3almitate 61etyl #lcohol 63almityl #lchohol -obtained from saynotopalmoil.com0