Global demand for palm oil, as the most widely used vegetable oil on Earth, is only growing. It is found in more than half of the packaged goods in a regular grocery store – from lotions to lipstick, chocolate bars and peanut butter, often used in biofuels.
For the production of this product, companies have already burned and cut down the incredible rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia and violated the rights of national minorities whose livelihoods and lands have been stolen, whose lands have been turned into palm oil plantations on an industrial scale. Currently, the palm oil industry is targeting new territories and threatening the last rainforests of the Congo, Central and South America. That is why it is crucial not only to stop the spread of palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia, but also to transform the palm oil industry as a whole.
Blood, sweat and tears of “sweet industry”.
The world has long been fighting with large corporations for the opportunity to protect tropical forests from cutting down and protect animals, to preserve their habitats. RAN was one of the first organizations to raise concerns in the industry nearly 10 years ago, conducting research to protect the rights of palm plantation workers, local communities and the last remnants of the world’s tropical forests. In addition, pressure continues to be exerted on global snack companies, which are the main driving forces of the palm oil market and have an impact on tropical deforestation and the killing of orangutans.
In Ukraine, no one is engaged in this, but Ukraine as a country that in recent years seeks to join the European community could make more efforts to fight for tropical forests, while Ukrainian food industry enterprises are the largest consumers of this raw material, for example, the company AVK, which in the last four years has dramatically increased the use of palm oil in its products (we asked for data to the company, but have not yet received a response, but from the Ukrainian media and the state statistics body we learned about it). The company is one of the three leaders of the confectionery market in Ukraine, while, in our opinion, does not take measures for responsible consumption and does not take action to work with its suppliers, does not make efforts to preserve forests in Indonesia and Asia. As a company that is among the TOP 100 confectionery companies in the world, AVK will be one of the main consumers of palm oil and must take full responsibility for its palm oil supply chain. AVC is not sufficiently aware of its palm oil production partners and its partners can exploit workers and child labor, deforestation and plantation land conflicts.
Greenpeace international research discovered that many of the uses of palm oil are produced by companies that break the forest and harm the habitat of orangutans, pushing these beautiful and intelligent creatures to the brink of extinction. They are literally dying for cookies. It’s heartbreaking.
Its partners can continue to clear forests in a critical and threatened ecosystem without authorization and in defiance of a national moratorium on palm oil purification. Partners, as we read in the world media, destroyed the critical habitat for endangered elephant Sumatran, orangutans, and then sent palm oil coming from their plantations to the global supply chain of palm oil, which led to the emergence of AVK products in Ukraine and for export.
And we won’t stop until they do.
For a future that is sustainable to climate change, we need to preserve the sustainability of forests
Left intact, the world’s forests act as a huge carbon Sink – one that doesn’t need our bioengineering, artificial sequestration or complex replacement schemes to function. All they need is for us not to cut them down, and they will continue to act as one of the best defensive measures against devastating climate change.
But this last part-the impenetrable part of the rainforest-seemed to the multinational corporations among us to have a hard time figuring out how too properly. Over the past few decades, rampant deforestation and land conversion – often for industrial palm oil plantations or large pulp and paper farms – have destroyed hundreds of thousands of acres of rainforest.
Deforestation of tropical forests, what can we do?
We want to put pressure on some of the world’s worst rainforest destroyers to change their business models.
AVC has not yet made a strong enough commitment to stop deforestation, and we need your support in putting pressure on this lagging company and other Ukrainian food companies to keep up with the times.
We could say something like:
AVK, your palm oil in your farce products. The truth is that your company continues to make millions while rainforests are falling and your supply chain workers are exploited to produce conflict palm oil. Instead of pleasant words, take real measures to put an end to exploitation.
What can the company do?
Even if the company pledged “not to cut down forests” in their supply chain, it should ensure implementation of its obligations. A corporate promise should be worth the paper it’s printed on
Perhaps most importantly, any commitment must be implemented effectively. The leading instrument for realizing the promise of” non – deforestation “in practice is called the” high carbon approach ” (HCSA), the first methodology that has been tested and developed with the participation of a wide network of stakeholders. Perhaps most importantly, it respects the rights of local communities and also provides a process for determining what land should be allocated for conservation and what land can be built. Integrated with the improved practice of free, prior and informed consent (fPIC), as well as in relation to land use and sources of livelihood, the HCSA requires the participation and planning of community land use and management, so that local communities are guaranteed the final word when it comes to decisions on the protection of forests and development of agriculture on their ancestral or traditional lands.
Protection of forests-protection of all mankind!!
A recent study has shown that the protection of “high-carbon” forests also protects endangered species that depend on them, which means that tools such as HCSA that identify and conserve forest areas containing large amounts of carbon are also useful for biodiversity conservation. A strong, vital forest provides many benefits to the plants and animals that share its ecosystem, to local communities that rely on its clean drinking water, and ultimately to all of us who live on this Earth.
AVK company contacts:
In writing this statement, we used materials from open sources on the Internet.
Special thanks to the authors who inspired us to protect responsible consumption of palm oil and fight for the protection of the rainforest and forest dwellers – The Guardians columnist Arthur Nelsen, RAN and Anisa Ramawaiti-environmental activist.
TM AVK is used for non-commercial purposes, without profit.
