Saving the orangutans, political right?
Iceland have recently made the news after their 2018 Christmas advert was not given the green light by assessor Clearcast. As a film made by Greenpeace the short emotional advert, which depicted the plight of orangutans and the deforestation due to palm oil, was deemed to be too political for British TV standards.
But what is Palm Oil and why is it an issue ?
Palm Oil is everywhere from lipstick to ice cream as it is cheap, useful and as a result 'the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet' (WWF). Having quickly ascended to a fundamental part of our daily lives and routines Palm Oil has not come without its cost.
If grown in a sustainable manner palm oil is not an issue, however, the rapid growth in demand has led to an equally rapid, unsustainable expansion in the industry. This has led to an uncontrolled level of deforestation which in turn has led to severe losses in the rainforest biodiversity. It is this loss of biodiversity that has been detrimental to many species who rely on the rainforest for food, protection and survival, including the orangutans.
So what do we do?
Knowing the facts is important for making informed decisions, but, the issue of Palm Oil is one which is deeply ingrained into our society and industry. It can also be quite hard to discover if Palm Oil or one of its derivatives is in the products that you are buying as it can go by many names including Vegetable Oil or Palmate (find a full list on the WWF website linked above)
If you can, make your own instead of buying, for example, batch bake for the week instead of buying lots of one off ready meals. Alternatively, look out for the sustainable Palm Oil logo as companies will advertise if they are making an ethical decision. As with Iceland who are working on removing all Palm Oil from their own products and so attempted to both promote this decision and the ethical issues of Palm Oil in their Christmas advert.
Use the momentum created by Greenpeace and Iceland to call for positive change in bringing sustainability issues into mainstream media as well as calling for a change on the damaging practises of deforestation. As I wrote last week, vote with your wallet and choose the kinder, more sustainable future.
Tasha xx
Iceland have recently made the news after their 2018 Christmas advert was not given the green light by assessor Clearcast. As a film made by Greenpeace the short emotional advert, which depicted the plight of orangutans and the deforestation due to palm oil, was deemed to be too political for British TV standards.
But what is Palm Oil and why is it an issue ?
Palm Oil is everywhere from lipstick to ice cream as it is cheap, useful and as a result 'the most widely consumed vegetable oil on the planet' (WWF). Having quickly ascended to a fundamental part of our daily lives and routines Palm Oil has not come without its cost.
If grown in a sustainable manner palm oil is not an issue, however, the rapid growth in demand has led to an equally rapid, unsustainable expansion in the industry. This has led to an uncontrolled level of deforestation which in turn has led to severe losses in the rainforest biodiversity. It is this loss of biodiversity that has been detrimental to many species who rely on the rainforest for food, protection and survival, including the orangutans.
So what do we do?
Knowing the facts is important for making informed decisions, but, the issue of Palm Oil is one which is deeply ingrained into our society and industry. It can also be quite hard to discover if Palm Oil or one of its derivatives is in the products that you are buying as it can go by many names including Vegetable Oil or Palmate (find a full list on the WWF website linked above)
If you can, make your own instead of buying, for example, batch bake for the week instead of buying lots of one off ready meals. Alternatively, look out for the sustainable Palm Oil logo as companies will advertise if they are making an ethical decision. As with Iceland who are working on removing all Palm Oil from their own products and so attempted to both promote this decision and the ethical issues of Palm Oil in their Christmas advert.
Use the momentum created by Greenpeace and Iceland to call for positive change in bringing sustainability issues into mainstream media as well as calling for a change on the damaging practises of deforestation. As I wrote last week, vote with your wallet and choose the kinder, more sustainable future.
Tasha xx
Nice post there are many natural oils like Gingerly Oil Price in Chennai for the strong and the healthy life. By using these kinds of oils can make your body fit and beauty.
ReplyDeleteThank you, it's always good to educate ourselves on more ethical alternatives so that we can live in a more caring way. I'll have look into it. Tasha xx
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