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Save Our Planet By Putting an End to Unsustainable Palm Oil

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Sponsor: Greatergood.org

Palm oil, a product that's in half of the world's food, may be causing the destruction of our planet.

Palm oil, a product that's in half of the world's food, may be causing the destruction of our planet.

The habitats of iconic endangered species like tigers, orangutans, and rhinoceros are going up in flames, and being replaced with palm tree plantations1.

Palm tree oil is one of the hottest commodities on the planet — it's inexpensive, trans fat-free, and can be found in roughly 50% of all market products2. But our excessive use of palm oil has come with a significant cost: the homes and lives of the most beautiful creatures on the planet.

Indonesia leads the world in palm oil exports, but has arguably the lowest standards for regulating production3. Though forest burning is illegal, few have been charged for the roughly 100,000 human-caused fires. Meanwhile, Indonesia's newly revised Plantation Act now discourages palm producers from using land for habitat conservation4.

In October 2015, the World Resources Institute revealed that daily emissions from Indonesian forest fires had surpassed the U.S. economy's daily emissions average5. The haze affected people in Southeast Asia through the following year.

Tell the Indonesian government it's time to end this madness. Sign the petition below and ask the President and environment & forestry minister of Indonesia to end these crimes against nature.

Watch below to see footage of Indonesia's devastating fires, and to learn more about this ongoing disaster:

More on this issue:

  1. The Sumatran Orangutan Society, "The Problem with Palm Oil."
  2. Rainforest Action Network, "Palm Oil Fact Sheet."
  3. Environmental Investigation Agency, (8 February 2018), "Backtracking on reform: how Indonesia's Government is weakening its palm oil standards."
  4. Jocelyn C. Zuckerman, Audubon.org (2016), "As the Global Demand for Palm Oil Surges, Indonesia's Rainforests Are Being Destroyed."
  5. Nancy Harris, Susan Minnemeyer, Fred Stolle and Octavia Payne, World Resources Institute (16 October 2015), "Indonesia’s Fire Outbreaks Producing More Daily Emissions than Entire US Economy."
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The Petition:

Dear President and Environment & Forestry Minister of Indonesia,

One of the worst environmental disasters to reach Indonesia is ongoing, and has a clear, single cause: the hunger for palm oil.

While it's understandable that the Indonesian government would want to encourage palm oil production — it's your third-highest source of capital — the current palm oil model in Indonesia is unsustainable.

This year, at least nineteen people have died from forest fires or smoke inhalation, and an unknown number of animals have undoubtedly perished too. The fire starters are responsible for a loss of 21,000 square kilometers of forest habitats, and toxic smoke from the burned-down trees has spilled into the atmosphere over Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore.

Last year, you increased revenue from palm by imposing an export levy on the product. That was a step in the right direction, but you can do even more to protect the people and wildlife with whom you share a home.

Your country has some of the most beautiful people and animals on the planet. By protecting their beauty, you will be able to drive tourism, all while restoring the calm equilibrium once prevalent in Borneo.

Please redirect palm oil export revenue from the biofuel program to ecotourism and conservation initiatives, so you can raise your bottom line in a more friendly, sustainable, and intelligent manner.

Thank you.

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Signatures: