Start labeling palm oil in food and household products

Start labeling palm oil in food and household products

Started
March 27, 2014
Petition to
Australian ambassador to Indonesia Greg Moriarty and 12 others
Petition Closed
This petition had 1,276 supporters

Why this petition matters

Started by Nadzirah Suhaimi

I live in the beautiful island of Borneo, which is one of the most bio-diverse regions of the world.

Borneo is home to the world's oldest rainforest - 130 million years old. Borneo is extremely rich in life, containing around 20,000 flowering plant species, 3,000 tree species, 300,000 animal species and thousands more being discovered each year.

Despite this amazing biodiversity and delicate web of species, the World Wildlife Fund has found that an area the size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each HOUR to make way for the production of one vegetable oil. That’s 6 football fields destroyed each MINUTE. 

This vegetable oil is called palm oil, and is found in hundreds of the everyday products, from baked goods and confectionery, to cosmetics and cleaning agents… many of which you buy in your weekly shopping.

PALM OIL IS NOT HARMLESS. The palm oil industry is known to be linked to deforestation, habitat degradation, climate change, animal cruelty, and the abuses of indigenous rights in the countries it's produced. Production of palm oil has huge negative implications on the people, animals, and land of Borneo

But due to the massive international demand for palm oil, palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the rainforest habitat of the critically endangered orangutan; with over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years.

Orangutans are considered as pests by the palm oil industry. Do a quick google search of 'orangutan palm oil industry'. The photos that come up are devastating.

I have seen orangutans in the wild. They are beautiful, serene, gentle, and majestic creatures who are so loving with their infants. In the deforestation process, workers are told that if orangutans and other wildlife get in the way, they are to do whatever is necessary in order to dispose them, no matter how inhumane. Often orangutans are run over by logging machinery, beat to death, buried alive or set on fire… all in the name of palm oil.

The solution seems simple enough – to check the ingredient label on all the products we consume.

BUT palm oil is often labelled as 'vegetable oil', implying a harmless ingredient. What's worse is that there are THIRTY NAMES palm oil can be labelled under.

This means that even if you care deeply about this cause, many will have no idea just how much palm oil they are consuming in their daily lives, and are not equipped with enough knowledge to avoid supporting the palm oil industry.

A call for the proper labelling of the palm oil ingredient as opposed to it being classified as a 'vegetable oil' can help us to lower our consumption of palm oil products and allow us to make responsible and informed decisions on whether we want to contribute to the harmful consequences of palm oil production.

This petition does not call for a ban. We believe the first step is to raise awareness on how harmful the palm oil industry is to our planet and the life that call this Earth home. The second step, is to ensure that people know exactly what they are supporting and consuming!

30 Names Palm Oil is Labelled Under

http://drpongo.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/productpalmoillist2012flexweek.pdf

References

http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/forests/palm-oil 

http://eia-international.org/conservationists-urge-rspo-member-to-cease-rainforest-destruction-after-starving-orangutans-rescued-from-concession

http://www.seenox.com/2014/02/17/say-palm-oil/

http://www.examiner.com/article/orangutans-captured-killed-even-used-as-prostitutes-petitions

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/02/pictures/130228-sumatra-indonesia-orangutans-animals-logging-science/

http://www.saynotopalmoil.com/Whats_the_issue.php/

http://www.orangutans.com.au/Orangutans-Survival-Information/About-Palm-Oil.aspx

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/footprint/agriculture/palm_oil/

http://www.animalnational.com/save-the-orangutan/

http://www.palmoilinvestigations.org/

http://www.greenthefilm.com/

http://www.tft-forests.org/news/item/?n=12845

http://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/6846/Lost-in-Palm-Oil

http://www.theburningseasonmovie.com/

 

List of products with palm oil

http://a-z-animals.com/palm-oil/products/

https://www.daisysfriends.org/Palm_Oil_Products.html

http://www.deforestationeducation.com/products-that-contain-palm-oil.php

Sign this petition if you care, and share it. Each signature sends an email to ALL TWELVE of the government authorities listed below.

Image from http://www.smh.com.au/

Petition Closed

This petition had 1,276 supporters

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Decision Makers

  • Greg MoriartyAustralian ambassador to Indonesia
  • Dr. Ir. HaryonoHead of Agricultural Research and Development (Indonesia)
  • Ir. Mukti SardjonoMinister of Environmental Affairs Expert Staff (Indonesia)
  • Prof. Dr. Ir. Pantjar SimatupangExpert Staff Development Minister of Agriculture Policy (Indonesia)
  • Mohd Sallehhuddin b HassanDevelopment Division, Ministry of Agriculture (Malaysia)