Don't palm us off
Home » Blog » Sophie Bond » Don't palm us offPalm oil plantations are taking over the rainforest. What can you do about it?
Don't Palm Us Off campaign photos from the Auckland Zoo
It didn't feel right ripping open the small purple box. I wished it was another brand but told myself I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth—or should that be put a gift horse in my mouth? In the same week that three blocks of Cadbury chocolate turn up in my kitchen, information about Auckland Zoo's 'Don't Palm Us Off' campaign slides onto my desk.
It has been a difficult year for the violet giant. The move to make its blocks of chocolate smaller and the introduction of palm oil to its recipe saw consumers boycotting its product. Last month Cadbury bowed to public pressure and changed the recipe back.
The good news here—apart from people discovering some of the other awesome chocolate on the market—is that the negatives of palm oil production became general knowledge. The Auckland Zoo has played an important part in highlighting the problems with palm oil and helping people take action. Its new campaign is pushing Food Standards Australia New Zealand to legislate to label palm oil on all food products containing the ingredient.
I don't buy oranges from California because I think it's silly to import a fruit grown in abundance in New Zealand. I don't want to buy a product containing palm oil because, if you haven't already heard, it's bad news for the planet.
Palm oil is a huge industry. It is used in one in ten supermarket products and is also found in cosmetics and stock feed. It grows only in tropical environments, with Malaysia and Indonesia producing over 85 percent of the world's palm oil. According to the Auckland Zoo the equivalent of 300 rugby fields an hour is being destroyed for palm oil plantations. This deforestation is pushing the orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Asian elephant and Asian rhinoceros towards extinction. If current production levels stay the same it is estimated the orangutan could be extinct in the wild within ten years.
The animals can't chose to stop the destruction of their habitat but we can chose to boycott products containing palm oil—if we can spot them.
Until we have compulsory labelling of palm oil you'll have to read packets carefully for yourself. You can download the Palm Oil Free Shopping Guide from the Auckland Zoo's website. If you're serious about avoiding the product, the last page lists the other names for palm oil. Thought those hydrated palm glycerides were okay? Think again.
And to finish on a favourite topic: do buy fair trade chocolate if you can. Yes it's pricier, but if you savour every morsel you may just make the block last longer.
