Palm oil comes from the Palm Fruit which originated in West Africa and grows in hot, wet climates. It’s the most widely produced vegetable oil on the planet, with 90% of palm oil grown in Indonesia and Malaysia.
Palm oil itself is not the problem, it’s the way it is harvested in an excessive and unsustainable way, that causes so much social and environmental devastation. This is where the problems lie. The demand for palm oil is destroying rainforests at a frightening rate. Greenpeace says that every 25 seconds, Indonesia cuts down a football pitch sized area of rainforest for palm oil plantation.
Rain forests are the lungs of the earth. The amount of CO2 we produce is a real threat to the atmosphere. Our rainforests are known as the lungs of the earth because they soak up carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen. Without rainforests, we wouldn’t have a healthy atmosphere. If they disappear completely, eventually we won’t have enough air to breathe.
Deforestation is making these vital rainforests smaller. As we burn our way through their ancient trees, we add to the air pollution problem. Indonesia is third on the world CO2 pollution scale.
Rainforests are home to endangered species. These species are endangered because their habitats are being destroyed to make way for palm oil plantations. A third of Indonesian species are critically endangered due to deforestation.
We lose around 25 Bornean orangutang's a day due to deforestation. 90% of their habitat has been cut down over the last 20 years. We only have 60,000 of these beautiful creatures left, and counting. Orangutang's are not the only animals to face extinction through deforestation. Experts predict that Sumatran tigers will be gone within three years. The Sumatran rhino, sun bear, pygmy elephant, clouded leopard and proboscis monkey all face extinction too.
Deforestation not only removes vital habitats. It also creates a smaller area for poachers to search. Industry plantation roads make it easier for poachers to travel into the heart of the previously inaccessible rainforest.
Workers in Indonesia find themselves at the mercy of a major industry and a government that controls palm oil production. With no other way to support their families, they have to become reliant on the palm oil process. The rainforest land they once relied on for food and shelter is disappearing, by their own hands.
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