palm oil

Palm Oil 101: Everything You Need to Know

Palm Oil 101: Everything You Need to Know

What is Palm Oil?  If you use cosmetics, take showers or even just eat processed foods, chances are you put quite a bit of palm oil onto or into your body. Made from the fruit of an oil palm plant, palm oil is the most commonly used vegetable oil on the planet, and manufacturers have […]

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    20% of Oil Palms Grown for Palm Oil in Indonesia Are Illegal, Report Finds

    20% of Oil Palms Grown for Palm Oil in Indonesia Are Illegal, Report Finds

    Growing palm oil is notoriously bad for the environment, as creating the oil palm plantations requires extensive deforestation. This process destroys the habitats of orangutans, Sumatran rhinos, tigers and many other creatures. Now, a report shows that about one-fifth of the oil palm plantations in Indonesia are actually grown in forest estates, including protected forests […]

    Video Reveals Water Contamination, ‘Brazen Disregard’ for Amazon by ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Industry

    Video Reveals Water Contamination, ‘Brazen Disregard’ for Amazon by ‘Sustainable’ Palm Oil Industry

    During 18 months, Mongabay investigated allegations challenging the “sustainable” status of the Brazilian palm oil supply chain, revealing impacts including deforestation and water contamination, and what appears to be an industry-wide pattern of brazen disregard for Amazon conservation and for the rights of Indigenous people and traditional communities in northern Pará state. In this behind-the-scenes […]

    New Report Finds Indonesian Forestry Company Cleared Endangered Orangutan Habitat

    New Report Finds Indonesian Forestry Company Cleared Endangered Orangutan Habitat

    By Hans Nicholas Jong An Indonesian forestry company with possible links to pulpwood and palm oil powerhouse Royal Golden Eagle has cleared forests the size of 500,000 basketball courts since 2016, some of them home to critically endangered orangutans, according to a new report. Nusantara Fiber controls 242,000 hectares (598,000 acres) of industrial tree plantations […]

    Child Labor Linked to Palm Oil in Girl Scout Cookies, Snack Brands

    Child Labor Linked to Palm Oil in Girl Scout Cookies, Snack Brands

    Tens of thousands of children in Indonesia and Malaysia work to harvest the palm oil that ends up in several beloved Western snacks, including Girl Scout cookies. An in-depth Associated Press report published recently used U.S. customs records and the most up-to-date information from producers, traders and buyers to link palm oil harvested using child […]

    Standing Up for Indigenous Rights in West Papua

    Standing Up for Indigenous Rights in West Papua

    By Arkilaus Kladit My name is Arkilaus Kladit. I’m from the Knasaimos-Tehit tribe in South Sorong Regency, West Papua Province, Indonesia. For decades my tribe has been fighting to protect our forests from outsiders who want to log it or clear it for palm oil. For my people, the forest is our mother and our […]

    Fighting Poverty Can Also Fight Deforestation, New Study Finds

    Fighting Poverty Can Also Fight Deforestation, New Study Finds

    It may be surprising that a universal basic income would also help the environment, but that is exactly what a new study found. A government program to help poor, rural Indonesians through direct cash payments had the unexpected effect of reducing deforestation by 30 percent in participating villages, according to a new study, as Newsweek […]