Urgent: palm oil
- Details
- Published on Saturday, 30 April 2016 07:30
- Written by editor
A,
As we speak, Indonesia’s forests are burning out of control. A state of emergency has already been declared in one province.
The worst part? The fires were deliberately lit to make way for palm oil and other plantations, clearing out swathes of forests and carbon-rich peatlands. While the forest burns, critically endangered orangutans, elephants, and rhinos are swallowed up.
This palm oil is in almost everything we consume -- but it doesn’t need to be like this.
We can force companies like PepsiCo and Unilever to adopt responsible palm oil policies.
We’re making huge inroads and are seriously cleaning up the sector -- but we need a special commitment from you.
Will you make a monthly donation to support the movement against conflict palm oil?
Donate CA$3 a month Donate CA$5 a month Donate CA$10 a month Donate CA$20 a monthWe’re at a crossroads, and we have the power to decide whether history repeats itself in Indonesia.
Last year’s fires were the worst on record. Thousands of people and countless animals died; cities across South East Asia were covered in a thick, toxic haze for weeks; half a million people were hospitalised; and 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon -- equivalent to what Brazil produces in a year -- was released into the atmosphere.
Global demand for palm oil is rapidly rising. It’s driving the clearing of lush rainforest in South East Asia; ruining the homes of orangutans, elephants, and rhinos (some species of which there are only a few thousand left); and accelerating the use of forced labour and human rights’ violations.
It could get much worse. But if we act now, it could also get much better.
Monthly donations are what make us powerful -- by having a steady stream of resources, we can plan effectively, act quickly when moments call for it, and carry out attention-grabbing tactics that get under the skin of companies. That’s why we’re asking you to chip in today.
Will you make a special monthly donation to help clean up the palm oil sector and stop the forest fires?
Donate CA$3 a month Donate CA$5 a month Donate CA$10 a month Donate CA$20 a monthUnilever is the world’s largest user of palm oil. PepsiCo’s not far behind -- it uses over 400,00 metric tonnes of palm oil -- so much that if you filled Pepsi cans with palm oil, there would be enough to wrap around the entire world four times over.
We’ve got our eyes set on customers and financiers of dirty palm oil plantation companies.
We’ll be campaigning hard to hold these companies to account -- armed with strategic tactics that include brand-jamming on social media, on-the-ground organising outside annual shareholder meetings, and ad buys to amp up the pressure.
Already, together we’ve made huge corporations like McDonald’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Kellogg’s adopt sustainable palm oil policies following campaigns by the SumOfUs community. Thousands of you also generously donated to help people on the ground who lost their homes and their livelihoods because of the forest fires last year.
But we’ve still got a lot of work to do -- and if you make a special monthly donation, it edges our community closer to success.
Donate CA$3 a month Donate CA$5 a month Donate CA$10 a month Donate CA$20 a monthThanks for all that you do,
Carys, Kat, and the team at SumOfUs
PS: Can't make a monthly donation? You can still make a huge difference by making a one-time donation. Every little bit counts.
More information:
Can Indonesia's forest fires be put out for good?, BBC, 14 March 2016
SumOfUs is a worldwide movement of people like you, working together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable path for our global economy.
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