Greenwash Backfire: Asia Pulp and Paper PR Stunt “Sparks New Controversy”
Just weeks after images of one of the world’s last remaining Sumatran tigers dying in a trap set in an Asia Pulp and Paper (APP) plantation were broadcast to the…
Get A Free Ride With Malaysia’s New Sustainable Palm Oil Certification Scheme
If a massive palm oil company decides that getting its plantations certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is, well, just too hard, what do you think happens?…
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…
What Do Environmentalists And Animal Rights Activists Have In Common?
What do the environmental and animal rights movements have in common? More than you might think, including a profound love of certain vegan products that mark an intersection of our…
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…
A Rainforest Apocalypse? People, Peat And Promises For A New Direction
If you think this title sounds hyperbolic, you probably have not visited Sumatra lately. Before traveling here, I had heard stories about the oceans of oil palm that have been…
Red, White and Rainforest: Declare Independence from Deforestation
Every 4th of July, the red, white and blue comes out in a big way in Wayzata, Minnesota, an affluent suburb of the Twin Cities. An annual pancake breakfast, bicycle…
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…
Who is Using All the Rainforest?
UPDATE: On October 11, 2012, Disney announced a comprehensive paper policy that maximizes its use of environmentally superior papers like recycled and eliminates controversial sources like those connected to Indonesian rainforest destruction….
Cargill: Keep Slave Labor Out of US Grocery Stores
Did you know that palm oil—a pervasive vegetable oil widely known for its disastrous effect on rainforests—is found in about half of the goods at your local grocery store? Palm…