A product many have not even heard of is causing an apocalypse of sorts for the world’s orangutans. In Indonesia and Malaysia, rainforests are being slashed and burned at an alarming rate to make way for a third world cash crop: palm oil.
Palm oil has become almost ubiquitous in household products; it is used in instant ramen dishes, shampoo and conditioner, makeup and skin care products, chocolate-hazelnut spreads and nearly half of all packaged goods at any given supermarket. Many manufacturers have turned to palm oil because it is so cheap—until one factors in the cost to both human health (it is horrible for your heart), and the irreplaceable rainforests both our global ecosystem and the native orangutans depend upon.
To date, over 90 percent of orangutan habitat has already been destroyed. Additionally, smoke and debris from the fires are causing further damage to our primate relatives.
“The problem with fire and smoke is absolutely dire,” said Lis Key, International Animal Rescue’s communications manager in a Takepart interview. “Wild orangutans and orangutans in centers like ours are badly affected by the smoke. Some suffer upper respiratory tract infections, which can even prove fatal. Some of the babies we’ve taken in recently have been suffering not only from dehydration and malnourishment through lack of food but also breathing problems from the polluted air.”
One must wonder if a lower price point is worth the suffering and even possible extinction of living beings.
Luckily, it is not game over for orangutans yet, and there are steps we can all take, right now: boycott products or companies that use non-sustainable palm oil, write to companies that make products you use with this ingredient and tell them you won’t support unsustainable palm oil, educate friends and family and click here. A different ending to this story may yet be possible.
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Horrible!
This is too horrible. Those poor beasts who have large amounts of our DNA that matches. They live and love, have children they love and this, every day, this. What did we do before the wholesale use of Palm Oil in every effing thing? Oh? It wasn’t cheap enough? Well Palm Oil seems pretty fecking expensive to me. At home we try to avoid all Palm Oil products but its very hard as it’s ubiquitous although steps have been made here in UK at least, I believe.
Who are the Organisations dealing with these poor darlings? WSPA? IFAW?
Let’s get our act together HUMANS please, please, please. There is nothing on this planet that, to me, is worth the loss or destruction of one animal habitat or life. Back in the most basic days of humanity they managed to do this and yet us? Us with our civilised ways and nano techno everything have managed to fuck it up in less than 100 years. Please fellow Human Beans before it really is too late. Lobby your MP/Senator/Congressman/Elected Rep, it can be done, we just have to say it like we mean it. WE AINT PUTTING UP WITH THIS CRAP ANYMORE. Stop torturing animals in OUR name; stop making a fortune on the suffering of living beings in OUR name; all for our lovely, milky soft skin/hair/easy frying, pampered, destructive way of life.
We have GOT to get back to the “Garden”. To seeing the land as our friend not our enemy, not something to be hacked through and destroyed for the short term use of today’s “magic” product. Tomorrow there will be a palm oil susbstitute but the poor Orangutans and their co-dwellers will be gone, never to be got back. CEOs, Chiefs of Staff, Directors and Executive Managers and all your unpleasant, money loving ilk, how do you sleep? Think on: your sleep may not stay undisturbed. Humans of the world: it’s time for ALL of you to embrace your essential HUMANITY, for God’s sake. For the animals’ sake. For our childrens’ sake. Please. Peace.
You speak truth. Greed will wipe out this world. What was once a paradise, will now be a landfill. There is a a great unbalance in the ecosystem. In order to change and preserve this world, we must all changethe perception of mind. Mind over matter or matter over mind?
Gods don’t recognise that we are all great apes because they don’t believe in evolution so don’t expect any respect for anything in the land of religion.The tropics are the lungs of the earth and look at the way these religiots are treating our earths lungs!!! if this story disturbs you BOYCOTT everything ASIA, don’t set foot in their countries and support their economies and maybe they will get their shit together. BOYCOTT ASIA!
Revelation
The Seventh Trumpet
…17saying: “We give thanks to You, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was; You have taken Your great power and begun to reign. 18The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead, and to reward Your servants, the prophets and saints, and those who fear Your name, both small and great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth.” 19Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, and rumblings, and rolls of thunder, and an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.…
Save the orangutan. This is appalling allowimg them to die.
We shall become the hunters and for all of who commit these un forgiven acts of murders shall become the hunted
??
This must stop. We have to be responsible as this also affects humans in a multifaceted way. Jobs, health etc but we as humans are cleverer than this.
do stop this horror.
I’m sorry to say this my fellow Indonesian brothers and sisters, but the biggest open burning happened in Indonesia… Malaysia and Singapore were severely affected with haze and health problems related to it. While there’s open burning happened in Malaysia, it was very, very small compared to Indonesia’s.
But one thing that I can concluded when reading the article and comments, it’s an attack to palm oil and palm oil based products. Such a coward acts are usually attributed to feeling overwhelmed and threatened. If you guys can open upa bit and do some research regarding the benefits of palm oil compared to other type of oil, you’ll know why.
Regardless of the benefits of Palm oil over other types of oil, there is no good reason to destroy the natural earth in order to grow cash crops just so people can buy a preferred product. It’s morally wrong and has to stop.
Stop the horror is a must. But targeting only to boycott the palm oil producing companies that’s been burning down forests. Boycotting ALL is not the answer. Many oil palm plantations in Malaysia Indonesia are well managed and produce renewable crops
Not buying palm oil products would be a good start
We are the humankind are fully responsible to make our world like creature’s less universe just only because of making human commodities.
Please somebody help these poor animals, so sad.
I came across this article and wanted to add to this
There is a charity that has set up a sanctuary for these poor Orangutans that are being made homeless.
If you really want to help why not donate to their cause?
http://www.internationalanimalrescue.org/orangutan-sanctuary
We need to fight the corporations that are doing this. There are more sustainable ways to farm palm oil. The damage to both the environment, and to the families that are used as slave labor needs could be avoided if they were not so fixated on corporate greed.
There are petitions out there to fight this. Would you please take a stand and add your name to the petition:
https://www.rainforest-rescue.org/petitions/914/orangutans-victims-of-sustainable-palm-oil
Palm oil production by corporate giants such as Pepsi Co is behind much of this devastation. You can help stop this by voting with your wallet. Avoid eating anything that contains palm oil, and ban all Pepsi Co products. We need to put pressure on Pepsi to choose a more sustainable approach to meet it palm oil demand.
This won’t stop unless people act. Please help us take a stand.
destroy destroy!!that’s what most of humanity are doing today-fu$#@!g idiots…
and wouldn’t we as humans be outraged if someone came in and burned our homes and forced us to become homeless. I see humans and but no humanity. we seem to have lost the concept that “we are one”
beauty comes from within palm oil is not a remedy for anything ask any homeless orangutan or climate change expert … are we still willing to give up our animals & earths lungs for it ??????
Beauty comes from within, if it leaves our orangatans homeless & ruins earths’ lungs do you still need palm oil???? We are running out of time decide NOW !!!!
Goddamnit,i want to help,but i cannot think what the hell should i do (because im just fucking teen,which is sucks)
There is something you can do, especially since most snack foods are marketed to young people. Avoid buying foods that contain palm oil.
Now this is harder than it sounds since you will have to read the label before you buy your foods, but it will become second nature after a while.
If enough people do this we will be able to pressure companies like Pepsi co to stop this. Pepsi is one of the largest corporations behind this devastation.
You can also help by banning Pepsi products.
Standing together against the corporations is the only way to beat them and take back our planet.
What can be done? What can we do?
We must act now and stop this.
Human greed is appalling
Hello,
to show the whole magnitude of the problem, I made a map-movie of fires in Borneo
https://youtu.be/7sy_LOPCkp8
pls share!
Come on! Shampoo and conditioner, makeup and skin care products, chocolate-hazelnut spreads versus monkeys? Its truly a no-brainer.
You know that we can have these products in a sustainable way that does not involve burning down vast tracts of rainforest, enlaving families to work the fields and polluting the air for humans, apes and other animals alike.
It _can_ be sustainable if the greedy corporations prioritize sustainability over their profits.
Palm oil does not have to be grown and harvested this way. This way is just the cheapest way it can be done. We won’t have much of a world left to live in if we keep blindly advocating this type of corporate exploitation.
You CAN help!
Sign here:
https://www.change.org/p/companies-stop-using-awful-palm-oil
I will never use palm oil again!
What is being done on an international level? Why are the governments of the countries not acting to protect this precious resource? It starts from within. If they dont help themselves and make the changes internally, no matter how much individuals do it will always come back and happen again. The world community/governments MUST so something to stop these people! Boycotting may help but by the time they feel the effects of the boycott Borneo will be in ashes! There will be nothing to save! Action must be quick, effective, and swift! If you want to help, grab a fire extinguisher, get on an airplane and put out the fires, then, with the utmost urgency, petition your government to act, NOW!!!
We need Hackers to step and announce this! I mean the world is ignorant as it is so before we screw up the biodiversity it be good if someone who is capable can step up! We are greedy beings we need physical punishment and awareness to understand! JUST DO IT! Show this via live broadcast or soemthing!
Greed knows no bounds. If we as a people agreed to pay a little more for our products to prevent this sort of thing, the wealthy would simply apply new earnings towards profits and keep producing the palm oil anyways. The only solution is through tough legislation and taxes. Nothing is going to get better as long as these corporations blame consumers.
The only way this can be stopped is either humans are completely eradicated… or we wipe out OURSELVES that fucking vermin that constitutes the elite of our society. I can’t understand how a handful of men can own 7 freaking billions other men. WE are ONE. If we don’t stand tall and make a cleanup, nature will do it for us…
Makes you wonder who the animal really is
Olive oil seems to be a fairly good answer? it grows trees = more carbon dioxide, and I’m pretty sure olives don’t feel anything, it tastes yummy, so less chemicals going into the product. Perhaps there’s a good person out there with money and connections who could start this off? Greed can be assuaged with profits from olive oil? and we will all have beautiful shiny hair and clear skin and those beautiful creatures who don’t deserve the pain and suffering! We have done enough experiments surely to know what chemicals and other things do. Or maybe w
I say it’s time for a human genocide because I’m really getting sick and tired of mankind destroying every single thing around them!
It’s animals that matter, not money.