Friends of the Earth and the Ape Alliance have won the Observer Food Monthly award for ethical contribution to the food industry.
The award was won for our campaign to help stop the trade in palm oil from driving the orang-utan towards extinction.

The campaign was launched in 2005 in partnership with the Ape Alliance, which includes the:

Since its launch the campaign has notched up many successes including:
The orang-utan, rainforests of Borneo and the people who depend upon them are still under great threat. We are determined to keep up the struggle.
Ed Matthew, Friends of the Earth Palm Oil Campaigner
Friends of the Earth is continuing to campaign to ensure UK supermarkets deliver on their pledge to only use sustainable palm oil.
The demand for biofuels (PDF†) could also lead to even greater destruction of the orang-utan's home forests.
Friends of the Earth is also calling on the UK Government to ensure no palm oil is imported for bio-fuel.
The use of palm oil for biofuel and as biomass for energy
(PDF† 67K) August 2006
Friends of the Earth's position on the use of palm oil for biofuel and as biomass for energy.
Palm oil, the survival or the orang-utan and UK company law reform
(PDF† 56K) May 2006
This briefing explains why the failure of hundreds of UK companies to ensure that they do not buy palm oil from destructive sources is a classic example of how the voluntary approach to corporate responsibility has failed, and why the Company Law Reform Bill must be strengthened.
The
oil for ape scandal: How palm oil is threatening the orang-utan
(PDF 448K) Sept
2005
This summary report links the demand for palm oil to the impending extinction
of the orang-utan, rainforest destruction and human rights abuses.
The oil for ape
scandal: How palm oil threatens orang-utan survival
(PDF 422K) Sept
2005
The full research report containing more information on the impacts
of oil-palm plantations on human rights, workers rights, rainforest
destruction and the impending extinction of the orang-utan.
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Images: © Orangutan Foundation
Calliste Lelliott/Friends of the Earth