The future's not bright if you're orange1 September 2005
Friends of the Earth launched a new report on the far-reaching impacts of the palm oil industry this month.
The report called "The oil for ape scandal" links the demand for palm oil to the impending extinction of the orang-utan.
The report states that without urgent intervention, the palm oil trade will probably cause the extinction of the orang-utan within 12 years.
Today the greatest threat to orang-utan habitat is the continued expansion of oil-palm plantations.
Professor Birut Galdikas, Orangutan Foundation
This makes the palm oil industry the primary cause of the orang-utans' decline, wiping out its rainforest home.
Palm oil is a vegetable oil found in 1 in 10 supermarket products, such as chocolate, bread, crisps, detergents and lipsticks.
84% of UK companies that import palm oil have done nothing to make sure their palm oil is not from a destructive source.
If no action is taken we will have to explain to our children that the orang-utan became extinct, not because of a lack of knowledge, but because of corporate greed and a lack of political will.
Ian Redmond, Chairman of the Ape Alliance
The failure of UK companies to take action is another example of corporate irresponsibility.
Watch a movie on the orang-utans
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2 mins (2.5MB - MPEG format)
Resource
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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© Ian Redmond
