 |
| Photograph by Amy Foote Dipterocarp tree in Danum Valley, Sabah |
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and home to wealth of biodiversity. Over the decades, Borneo has suffered from extensive deforestation due to demand for tropical timber and palm oil. In 2008, I visited Borneo and witnessed the extensive palm oil plantations. I wondered, what is so much palm oil used for anyway. I started digging and learned that palm oil is used for several purposes and is a component in both food and non food products. Aside from cooking, palm oil is found in food products such as breakfast bars, crackers, baked goods, margarine, instant noodles, baby formula and non-food products such as lotions, cosmetics, soap, plastics, biodiesel, candles, cleaning products, shampoos and more. You can check out the America Palm Oil website to learn more. I went to the store and looked at the ingredients in all sorts of products and found it hard to find products without palm oil especially in the snack and processed food aisles.
How do we as consumers have the power to to encourage sustainable use of resources?
Check out the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm oil.
Links to learn more
Borneo's Rainforest
Borneo's Moment of Truth
WWF - Borneo and Sumatra - Priceless forests harbor untold species
American Palm Oil
Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
