Is Dr. Oz Shilling for the Malaysian Palm Oil Mafia?

The public controversy around “America’s Doctor” is heating up. You may have noticed, for instance, the feature article in the most recent issue of New Yorker magazine titled “The Operator: is the most trusted doctor in America doing more harm than good?” As we recently reported, Dr. Oz, a TV personality who advocates healthy living [...]

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Malaysian Palm Oil Scheme: More Problems, Fewer Answers

This post was written by Andrew Ng, a RAN ally and committed activist who has spent more than a decade working on forest issues. What is the future of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO)? Clearly the Malaysian palm oil sector — including both industry and government — wants to challenge it with the [...]

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Abandon Ship! Even The Palm Oil Industry Is Distancing Itself From Alan Oxley’s Lies

You might not believe it, but apparently there is a point beyond which even the palm oil industry isn’t willing to stretch the truth. And Alan Oxley just blew right past it. Last November, Alan Oxley was called out by a dozen scientists from leading academic and research institutions around the world for promoting industrial [...]

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What is Sustainable Palm Oil? Part Two

The first blog post in this series explored the environmental, social, transparency and enforcement weaknesses of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), the dominant certification standard for palm oil companies. This post examines the colorful spectrum of positions on “sustainable” palm oil, from environmental advocacy and conservation groups to scientists and industry groups. Organizations [...]

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Malaysian Palm Oil Council CEO continues misinformation campaign

Dr Yusof Basiron is the CEO of the Malaysian Palm Oil Council (MPOC), a lobbying group that supports the oil palm industry in both Malaysia and Indonesia. Dr. Basiron is been working closely with the agricultural ministries of Malaysia and Indonesia, pushing for more tropical forest to be flattened and burned to make way for [...]

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