Unilever, world’s largest palm oil buyer, shows leadership. Will Cargill?
Today Unilever, the consumer goods giant that purchases 4% of the world’s palm oil, has finally lived up to the commitments they made almost two years ago to remove rainforest…
Sumatra hunger strike: the last recourse for a forest community
Here in Riau, Indonesia, signs of the struggle to save the last of Sumatra’s forest is everywhere. Daily, the papers cover stories of timber and oil palm companies destroying forests,…
RSPO Dispatch: Duta Palma destroys rainforests and lives
On the first day of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) Pak Jamaluddin was quiet. He said the air conditioning of Kuala Lumpor gave him the flu. He seemed…
RSPO Dispatch: Cargill’s message to local communities – We have no time for you
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was founded to create a path towards sustainability in the palm oil industry. A voluntary process, oil palm producers, traders, buyers, and NGO’s…
RSPO Dispatch: Tough times for climate and forests, but RSPO still intact
Contrary to a number of sensationalist media reports leading up to this year’s Round Table on Sustainable Palm Oil, the RSPO is not breaking up. At the core of the…
RSPO Dispatch: Oil palm is not development
The RSPO is the world’s largest annual meeting of oil palm industry, environmentalists, human rights advocates, and, most importantly, community members. Today, I watched as a community member from Borneo…
Commodity Colonialism – Oil Palm development in Papua New Guinea
A new, hard hitting, RAN case study on Cargill’s oil palm operations in PNG, ‘Commodity Colonialism’, is now available for download HERE. Papua New Guinea (PNG) is a nation that…
The elephant in the oil palm plantation: China’s growing influence in the oil palm industry
Here at RAN the agribusiness campaign is hard at work pressuring US agribusiness companies, with a focus on the massive privately held company Cargill, to stop their dirty and dangerous…
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…
Oil Palm Development Marches On: How much is too much forest destruction?
David Dellatore has faced much criticism for his willingness to work with palm oil companies. NGO’s on the ground in Indonesia face a very different reality than advocacy groups far…