By 
This is the first blog post I’ve written for RAN. I’m the new senior agribusiness campaigner and I was hired because RAN believes that it is more urgent than ever that we take our palm oil work to the next level.
I’m writing this post to lay out the next phase of our campaign to stop the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests for palm oil. I want to bring each and every one of you reading this on board right from the beginning.
We have reached the last stand for Sumatran orangutans, but it’s not too late to save them. Many Americans are being made into unwitting accomplices in the destruction of Indonesia’s rainforests—which provide crucial habitat for a number of endangered species like the Sumatran orangutan—because palm oil is in half of all the products on their neighborhood grocery store’s shelves. In the months ahead, we’re going to tackle this problem at its source.
We’ve just sent letters to 20 snack food companies—makers of some of the most popular brand name products in America—alerting them to the rainforest destruction and orangutan extinction in their supply chains.
We’re waiting for the companies’ responses to our letters, and we’re giving them this one chance to avoid being publicly named and shamed. Some of them might not even realize the impact of the palm oil they use in their products. In the meantime, we’re gearing up to launch a bold new campaign that will shift the companies who are the most unwilling to change.
But none of these companies will adopt new safeguards to keep rainforest destruction out of their supply chains if they think you aren’t paying attention. That’s why it’s so important that you sign the petition and stand with us.
We can’t thank you enough for all the work you’ve done to stand up to the corporations that are destroying Indonesia’s precious rainforests and putting orangutans out of a home for palm oil. Every change we’ve made in the world is thanks to you, your hard work and dedication. But our work is far from done.
Please sign our petition now, and then stay tuned. We’ll be in touch soon with more ways you can spread the word about the true price we pay for palm oil and take action on behalf of Indonesia’s rainforests and all of its inhabitants.