Palm oil - good news

Public pressure in the West on the food companies resulted in the demand that palm oil not be planted at the expense of the rainforests

Oil palm plantations are one of the most harmful factors for the environment. To grow the palm, equatorial rainforests are cleared, and swamps are drained. The clearing and drying that is carried out mainly in West Africa and Southeast Asia damages the habitats of animals, many of which are in danger of extinction such as: Sumatran tigers, orangutans, elephants, rhinoceroses and others.
Deforestation and drying of "wet areas" causes a serious damage to the carbon dioxide balance in the atmosphere, resulting in an increase in global warming.

Palm oil is used in a wide variety of food products, baking, sweets, cosmetics and more. According to a report by "The Forest Trust", oil imports have increased fivefold in the last decade in the US alone. For several years now, green bodies have been fighting companies that grow oil palm as well as companies that use oil.

About six months ago, natural forests burned in an uncontrollable fire, the smoke suffocating residents in large areas of Southeast Asia. The people of the green bodies had a suspicion that the fires were started by the doers of the oil palm industry.
In an attempt to find a solution, a "Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil" was held in 2004, but many critics say that the result of the meeting was less than hoped for.

"Wilmar" (Wilmar International) is the largest company in the world that produces about 45% of the palm oil. The global oil production turnover is about 5 billion dollars every year, last year the company was ranked last (the worst) among five hundred companies whose impact on the environment was measured and ranked.

According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation, following increasing pressures - and perhaps (finally) realizing that there is an economic advantage in preserving the natural environment, the company agreed to commit "to supply the palm oil without further damage to the environment and without further damage to the rainforests".

The commitment is not to cut down any more forests and not to damage kebal surfaces and swamps, a commitment to protect and preserve especially habitats where species in danger of extinction exist. If this commitment is realized, its results will greatly moderate the destruction of forests in the entire world. At the same time, the company's representatives pledged to protect the rights of the employees and the property and activity rights of the residents of the areas where it operates.

The realization of a commitment by such a large company will be a measure and impetus for the activity of other companies and will oblige them to follow suit and grow the oil palm plantations in a sustainable manner. This commitment could be the beginning of a "green revolution" that would allow agriculture that does not harm the forests. A revolution that is requested by a growing number of consumers all over the world.

"Wilmar's" commitment came after, starting in 2010, companies creating food began to commit that they would use oil produced without harming the environment - the most well-known of which are Nestle and Unilever, and again since there are also huge companies in the food sector that dominate the industry, it is to be hoped that their commitment of Wilmer will be an impetus to create a "wave" of additional commitments.

Now it remains to be seen how Wilmer fulfills her commitment, and maybe they will finally begin to understand that: the time has come that instead of controlling the environment for the sake of the human population, there will be control of the human population for the sake of the environment!