New Study: Species Gravely Endangered by Global Trade of Commodities like Palm Oil

A new study led by the University of Sydney appeared in the Journal Nature recently, warning that nearly a third of animal species under threat in developing nations are linked to global trade of manufactured goods and commodities such as palm oil. As the researchers put it: “Human activities are causing the globe’s sixth major [...]

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ADM vs. Responsible Palm Oil & Human Rights

Unlike 2008′s showdown, nobody from RAN attended this year’s Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) shareholder meeting to hold CEO Patricia Woertz’ ass to the fire. Nonetheless, ADM did not get away without responding to tough questions about the company’s irresponsible palm oil supply chain. ADM, one of the world’s largest agricultural processors with operations in more [...]

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Can Protected Areas Combat the Sixth Mass Extinction?

Our planet is currently facing one of the most destructive extinction events in the history of the earth, with an estimated loss of 30,000 species per year, known as the Sixth Mass Extinction. The cause?  Humans. The pulp and paper and palm oil industries are causing species extinction left, right, and center in one of [...]

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What is Sustainable Palm Oil? Part Three

This is the third and final installment in a series of posts that endeavors to answer a simple question: What is sustainable palm oil? The answer, of course, is anything but simple. The first blog post in this series explored the weaknesses of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the dominant certification standard for [...]

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Will Danger Listing Of UNESCO World Heritage Site Save The Orangutan?

Several weeks ago, three national parks in Sumatra, Indonesia were collectively labeled a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger. This inscription reiterates the urgency to issue full protections for the last remaining tracts of unspoiled rainforest on the island. The Sumatran rainforest, named a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2004 for its wealth of biodiversity, [...]

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The Failing Fight to End Illegal Animal Trade and Trafficking in Indonesia

Illegal trafficking, trade, and poaching of endangered wildlife in Indonesia are not new problems, but these disgusting practices that blatantly violate animal rights and the law have been drawing more attention than usual in international media lately. Although it gives me hope that more people are paying attention to this rampant problem and that new [...]

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Palm Oil’s Effects On Communities Around The World

Did you see The New York Times Op-Ed on Saturday titled “The World Bank’s Palm Oil Mistake“? I sure did. The author, Thompson Ayodele, provided a narrow perspective on the World Bank’s recent decision to continue it’s freeze on new lending to palm oil projects around the world until it’s framework and strategy is clarified. [...]

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Palm Oil Key Focus at General Mills Shareholder Meeting

Yesterday marked a huge shift in the U.S. food industry – it’s now official that the world’s sixth largest food company is taking concrete action to address their controversial sourcing of palm oil from Cargill. I attended General Mills’ annual shareholder meeting on Monday in Minneapolis, MN, and listened intently as CEO Ken Powell addressed [...]

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The Power of Film: Indonesian Deforestation Exposed

Between major environmental campaigns, international policy negotiations, and increasingly critical threats to biodiversity and local communities, the issue of Indonesian rainforest destruction is gaining much needed recognition as a critical cause. Most recently, two incredible short films have been released detailing the intense realities of this environmental crisis: one from the perspective of an Indigenous [...]

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Nestle Rejects Rainforest-Destroying Palm Oil: Who’s Next?

This week the leading consumer food company Nestle announced new policies to eliminate palm oil connected with the increasingly dire status of broad swaths of the world’s rainforests. The expansion of palm oil plantations is an leading driver of deforestation in Indonesia, home to rainforests of global importance. In their statements this week, Nestle has [...]

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