Don’t Palm Us Off

Hmmm… this is my third political/environmental statement in as many weeks – way too activist for me, but hey, there are just some things that get my goat!

Like destroying the habitat of divinely gorgeous animals.

(I promise I’ll do some happy, design-y blogs very soon).

I visited the Melbourne Zoo today with a friend, her two sons and my own, with the main purpose of seeing baby Mali, the elephant. And as expected, she was way too cute!

But the day also took some unexpected turns. Like, how do you explain wildlife poachers to a 3 1/2 year old when he spots a sign in the tiger enclosure? Or laugh as he and friend pretend to be pandas amongst the bamboo. How do you look into the eyes of an orangutang and not cry, as you comprehend that these beautiful animals are so gravely under threat in the wild for the want of cheap fat – that we’re not supposed to be eating anyway? Are zoos the only future of such beautiful creatures?

Palm oil plantations are actually the biggest destroyer of forests in Indonesia and Malaysia (not paper, as is commonly indicated). Yet, we continue to support the industry, because we currently don’t have the ability to vote with our wallets. At least with paper, we can choose FSC or other forestry certified papers. With palm oil, we don’t even know it’s there.

Exactly what is vegetable oil?

It could be canola grown in outback Australia, where farmers have shifted from wool in a desperate attempt to save their land and livelihoods – or it could be palm oil, which is currently growing at a rapid rate, at the expense of native rainforest, the habitat of some of the world’s most beautiful and rare creatures and plants.

This week’s call to action: sign the petition to ensure that palm oil is labelled as such on our foods. Then we, as consumers, have the power to vote with our wallets. It may be a sad state of affairs, but at the end of the day, money talks, and is what leads to real change… think of how quickly CFCs were taken out of pressure packs.

To find out more and to sign the petition, go to http://www.zoo.org.au/PalmOil/facts.