Tag Archives: Indonesia

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Slave labor linked to palm oil

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Rainforest Action Network
Tell Cargill CEO Gregory Page you’re outraged his company is importing palm oil made with child and slave labor
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Businessweek has released a groundbreaking article connecting Indonesia‘s palm oil industry to widespread cases of forced and child labor. The stories are truly terrifying, including workers, many of whom are children, being defrauded, abused, and held captive on palm plantations. All to grow a plant and extract its oil for use in junk food, lipsticks and other household items in our supermarkets.
As the Businessweek piece put it: “…[B]ecause palm oil companies face little pressure from consumers to change, they continue to rely on largely unregulated contractors, who often use unscrupulous practices.”  The power is ours to change this story. TODAY. It’s time to tell Cargill, the leading supplier of palm oil in the country, that we will not stand for child and slave labor in our food.
The Businessweek piece was instigated by a nine-month investigation of the palm oil industry by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism. The investigation focused on one of the world’s most significant palm oil suppliers, Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK), a major Cargill supplier. KLK workers—men, women and children—were lured thousand of miles away from their homes with promises of good work. What they found was that they wouldn’t be paid for two years, but only loaned up to $16 a month for health care and company-owned food. Many workers were locked into “stifling, windowless barracks” at night, and their national identity cards and school certificates were confiscated to prevent them from escaping.
So what did Cargill have to say about the practices of its corporate partner KLK? According to Businessweek: “Cargill defended its supplier. ‘At this time, KLK is not in violation of any labor laws where they operate nor are we aware of any investigation of KLK’s labor practices,’ says Cargill spokeswoman Susan Eich in an e-mail.”
This makes me furious. Let’s make sure Cargill doesn’t get away with using a PR flack to dodge its huge role in subjecting laborers and children to horrifying working conditions.
Please take the time today to tell Cargill to get conflict palm oil and slave and child labor out of our food.
Let’s face it, news breaks every day and then disappears into the background. In fact, companies like Cargill count on it. But we’ve all seen stories that break through and facilitate epic changes. The internet really does make it possible for our communities to amplify the news we care about—news that would otherwise go unseen. Today we have the opportunity to make sure palm oil plantation workers are not alone.
In too many ways, Cargill is right at the center of palm oil’s controversial web. Cargill must adopt comprehensive safeguards to prevent palm oil connected to slave and child labor, human rights abuses and rainforest destruction from tainting the world’s food supply.
Please tell Cargill today that you demand the company have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to slave and child labor.
You’ve told us that together we need to do everything in our power to get conflict palm oil off our grocery store shelves. This article needs to become our ammunition for educating our communities and going after the companies most responsible. When you’re done writing to Cargill today please take the time to encourage your friends to do the same. Let’s not let this issue fade from the front page.

Campaigner Name

Thanks for all that you do,
Robin Averbeck             Senior Forests Campaigner


More info: Bloomberg Businessweek: “Indonesia’s Palm Oil Industry Rife With Human-Rights Abuses” Understory: “BREAKING: Despite New Evidence, Cargill Denies Its Palm Oil Is Being Made By Slave Laborers”
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Stop palm oil slavery … Ashley Schaeffer, Rainforest Action Network

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The palm oil plantations that Cargill has purchased from—and distributed to America’s household food brands—are rife with human rights violations, including slavery.

Want to remove this shocking reality from your pantry? Start by letting Cargill know that slave labor is unacceptable.

www.ran.org

In Java last year, I interviewed two men with identical stories of being lured away from their hometowns with the promise of well paid work by Cargill supplier Kuala Lumpur Kepong (KLK).

The two were exposed to toxic chemicals in the palm oil fields with no protection and kept under lock and key at night by armed security. Each finally escaped these horrendous slave labor conditions without ever being paid.

I need your help to convince Cargill to stop filling America’s food supply with palm oil that causes environmental and human rights violations like these.

www.ran.org

You’ve already been a massive help in putting Cargill on the path to protecting Indonesia’s rainforests. Just last week, Cargill announced it will finally be offering North American customers palm oil certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Just two years ago Cargill claimed this was impossible. Your pressure made it happen. Thank you.

We’ve clearly got a few more steps to go to ensure Cargill’s on the right side of rainforests, and I’m asking you to take those steps by my side.

www.ran.org

Are you with me?

For the forests,
Ashley Schaeffer
Rainforest Agribusiness Campaigner
Twitter: @probwithpalmoil

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The rainforests of Indonesia are being bulldozed, burned and replaced by palm oil plantations


The rainforests of Indonesia are being bulldozed, burned and replaced by palm oil plantations.
Help stop rainforest destruction!
Donate today to help end rainforest destruction and protect the environment worldwide. If you have been waiting for the right time to make your first gift to Greenpeace, this is it. We have almost reached our goal of $150,000 by Dec. 31, and every gift makes a difference.
Donate button EOY

greenpeace“Holy….!” That was the first thought that went through my head while looking out the window during a recent flight over Indonesia. Where there was supposed to be rainforest, rows of palm trees stretched to the horizon.
The forest was gone — bulldozed, burned and replaced with palm oil plantations. The destruction was unimaginable.
It was that moment I realized it was going to take a global effort on a massive scale to transform the palm oil industry from the rainforest’s biggest threat to a partner in its protection. I work for Greenpeace because I know it’s possible. But not without your support.
Help stop rainforest destruction for dirty palm oil. Please give what you can to support Greenpeace’s work to save the Indonesian  rainforest and fight on the frontlines of environmental destruction  everywhere.

We are almost to our goal of raising $150,000 by Dec. 31. Joao Talocchi Greenpeace Palm Oil Campaigner
My flight above the palm oil plantations had been a shock, but nothing prepared me for the forest destruction on the ground. I arrived in one of the most crucial regions of Indonesian rainforest to find miles of forest burned or cleared. Not even in use — just destroyed and empty.
What had been habitat for endangered orangutans, tigers and even elephants just months before was now burnt stumps and fallen logs. Every step I took raised a small cloud of ash.
Even though many patches of rainforest like the one I visited are cleared illegally, the Indonesian government often doesn’t have the power or resources to investigate.
Greenpeace does, though only through the support of people like you. Make a gift now and add the power that makes our campaign to stop rainforest destruction, and all of our work, possible.
We are on the ground finding answers, monitoring for new areas of forest destruction from satellite, and holding palm oil companies and their customers accountable — even when authorities fail to do so.
And the progress we’ve made since my first visit has blown me away. The largest trader of palm oil in the world committed to only buy traceable zero-deforestation palm oil after Greenpeace exposed their connection to forest destruction this year. Big companies like Unilever and Nestle have made policies to only buy no deforestation palm oil.
We haven’t won yet. But we’re making progress. Now is an absolutely critical time.
2014 could be a turning point for the rainforests of Indonesia. Make a donation today to our efforts to save the rainforest and protect the environment worldwide. We have almost reached our goal of $150,000 by Dec. 31, and every gift makes a difference.
Greenpeace is completely independent. We don’t take a dime for corporations or governments. It’s what allows us to hold those responsible for rainforest destruction accountable and to do what’s right for the environment. It also means that without the support of people like you, none of it is possible.
Let’s make 2014 an even better year than this year for rainforests in Indonesia. For the endangered animals that live there. For the climate. And for our future.
Thank you,
Joao Talocchi Greenpeace Palm Oil Campaigner
P.S. Please make a donation today to our work on environmental frontlines around the world. We have almost reached our goal of $150,000 by Dec. 31st, and every gift counts.

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Humans Vs the rainforest and Orangutan


 greenpeace
This young orangutan was evacuated from his forest home right before it was destroyed. Others aren’t so lucky.
Donate today to help save the orangutan!
If you’ve been waiting for the right time to make your first gift to Greenpeace, this is it. Please chip in $5 or whatever you can to help save orangutans and support all the work we do to protect the environment.
Donate button EOY

The rainforest is a dangerous place for orangutan mothers and their young. Tigers and leopards are their natural predators. They’ve been dealing with these for centuries.
It’s the people with bulldozers, or even lighters, that these orangutan mothers have to fear the most.
This September, one young orangutan (pictured) and his mother were found and rescued just before their entire patch of forest was razed — with them inside it. All to expand a palm oil plantation.
Endangered orangutans have already been driven off 80% of their original habitat. The rest is set to disappear soon if nothing changes. Their last chance at survival is vanishing fast.
Help us ensure that orangutan mothers have a safe place to raise their young and support all the work we do to protect the environment by making your most generous year-end donation today. We are almost halfway to our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31st.
Tearing down rainforest for palm oil plantations doesn’t just mean trouble for endangered species like the orangutan. It’s bad news for all of us. The same trees and peatlands orangutans roam hold vast supplies of carbon that keep our climate stable.
Burning or bulldozing the forest releases massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere — driving climate change and leading to more extreme weather events right here in the US. Rainforest destruction affects us and our communities, thousands of miles away.
That’s why our campaign to stop forest destruction in Indonesia is so urgent. For the forests and for the climate. Please make your most generous year-end donation today. Your gift will support our campaign and all the work we do to protect the environment.
People, governments and corporations are beginning to recognize how important it is to turn the palm oil industry into a truly sustainable and responsible industry that benefits Indonesia’s people as well as forests. Just this week, the United Nations Environment Programme announced that it supports major action to transform the palm oil industry in order to ensure the survival of apes like the orangutan.
But to stop rainforest destruction before it’s too late, we can’t wait for others to catch up. That’s why we’ve launched a campaign to demand that consumer companies only use palm oil not linked deforestation. But it won’t be successful unless we have the support of people like you. Please make a donation to support this work, and all of Greenpeace’s campaigns, today.
Already in 2013, Greenpeace has exposed international corporations that buy palm oil grown on former orangutan habitat. And supporters like you have sent tens of thousands of messages demanding that major companies commit to no deforestation policies.
It’s not enough to fight deforestation from afar. We are also on the ground, working with other local and international groups — even the Indonesian government — to identify and monitor rainforest areas with the greatest need for protection: both for endangered species and for our climate.
Because we are watching, when crucial rainforest areas are under attack, we can find out who is responsible and hold them accountable to the public. Even when the government can’t.
This vital work, and all of Greenpeace’s campaigns, rest on your support. Please make a generous year-end gift today to help us reach our goal of raising $150,000 by December 31.
For our planet to thrive, we must end forest destruction in Indonesia and across the globe. It would be impossible alone, but I know that we can do it — together.
For the forests,
Joao Talocchi Greenpeace Palm Oil Campaigner
PS. We are almost halfway to reaching our $150,000 goal before December 31. Make your urgent year-end gift on our secure website.
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Extinction for palm oil


 greenpeace
We must act fast to stop rainforest destruction and save the last home of the Sumatran tiger.
Donate today to save the Sumatran tiger
Make an urgent gift today to help us reach our goal of $150,000 by December 31st and support all the work we do to protect the environment. Donate button EOY

A century ago, thousands of Javan, Bali and Sumatran tigers roamed the rainforests of Indonesia.
Not any more. The Javan and Bali tigers have been driven to extinction. And only a few hundred Sumatran tigers — the last survivors of their kind — remain. Every day they have less forest to hunt, to raise their cubs, to evade poachers. Every day brings them closer to extinction.
But we have the power to swing the balance back in the tigers’ favor. 
Greenpeace just launched a new campaign to transform the single biggest threat to Indonesia’s rainforests: the palm oil industry. Changing the industry means saving the Sumatran tiger’s remaining habitat from the bulldozer. Reversing this century of destruction can only happen with your support.
Carmen, if you have been waiting for the right time to make your first gift to Greenpeace, this is it. Please chip in 5 dollars or whatever you can today. Make an urgent gift to help us reach our goal of $150,000 by December 31st to support our campaigns to stop environmental destruction worldwide. Help save the last home of the Sumatran tiger.
In just two years, an area of Sumatran tiger habitat twice the size of Los Angeles has been destroyed to make way for palm oil and pulp and paper plantations. The companies behind the destruction are only thinking about profit and have been allowed to get away with it, no questions asked. Until now.
With your help, Greenpeace is exposing companies that buy palm oil linked to rainforest destruction. And using public pressure to convince these companies to end their role in deforestation. So you never have to wonder if the palm oil in your cookies or your shampoo was grown on former tiger habitat.
After the progress we’ve made this year, it’s clear that we are on the verge of something BIG. Just last week, Wilmar — a company that buys and sells over a third of the world’s palm oil — committed to stop trading palm oil linked to rainforest destruction because of Greenpeace’s research and campaigning. This, less than a month after major company Mondelez (formerly Kraft) committed to a zero-deforestation palm oil policy for its products.
But we are only part way there. We need more big companies to start demanding accountabilityin order to change the palm oil industry as a whole. This is a pivotal moment for the forests of Indonesia. We can’t back down now. For Greenpeace to keep the pressure up, we need your help.
Help us protect the Indonesian rainforest and home of the endangered Sumatran tiger by making an urgent donation in support of our campaigns to end forest destruction and all the work we do to protect the environment. Our goal is to raise $150,000 by December 31st.
Greenpeace is dedicated to doing whatever it takes in 2014 to reverse the march towards extinction for the tigers of Indonesia, and to save the crucial rainforests there from destruction.
We are committed to tracking dirty palm oil from its source on destroyed rainforest land in Indonesia all the way to your supermarket shelf. And then exposing the supply chain so that everyone — from the palm oil trader, to the consumer company, to the customer — knows that a product is tied to habitat destruction. Make a donation to help us expose rainforest destruction in products we use everyday, and for all our work protecting the environment.
But it isn’t enough just to shine the spotlight on dirty deeds. Just last week, almost 50,000 supporters sent messages to the Consumer Goods Forum — an organization of over 400 consumer goods companies — demanding that the organization require its member companies to end their part in deforestation. And we won’t stop putting palm oil companies and consumer companies in the hot seat until they commit to no deforestation palm oil.
The rainforests in Indonesia, like all forests around the world, are critical for our planet to thrive. The species that live in forests — and the carbon that the forests hold — keep our world rich with life and our climate stable.
2014 can be a year for action and promise for our world’s forests. But only if you join in.
Make a donation today to support all of Greenpeace’s work on the frontlines of environmental injustice, and to help stop the destruction of tiger habitat for palm oil.
Greenpeace has a goal of zero global deforestation by 2020. It’s ambitious, but with your support I know it’s possible. Thanks for all you do.
For the tigers,
Dr. Amy Moas Greenpeace Senior Forests Campaigner
P.S. Time is running out to save the Indonesian rainforest and the Sumatran tiger. Donate today to Greenpeace’s campaigns to protect the environment and stop rainforest destruction.