PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
Petition the Australian and NZ governments for the compulsory labelling of palm oil ingredients
  1. Signatures
    5 out of 100
    Petitioning
    1. Minister of Forestry, Associate Minister of Health (NZ) (+ 5 others)
      Petitioning
      close
      • Minister of Forestry, Associate Minister of Health (NZ) (Jim Anderton)
      • Minister for Fisheries, Forestry (AUS) (Tony Burke)
      • Indonesian Ambassador to Australia (His Excellency T.M. Hamzah Thayeb)
      • Minister of Forestry, Associate Minister of Health (NZ) (Jim Anderton)
      • Minister for Fisheries, Forestry (AUS) (Tony Burke)
      • Indonesian Ambassador to Australia (His Excellency T.M. Hamzah Thayeb)
  2. Created By
    Damien Bateman
    Melbourne, Australia
About this Petition Petition Letter

A true story of corruption, over-exploitation, merciless destruction of rainforests, and the genocide of one of the most charismatic and magnificent animals ever to have graced this earth.

And your local supermarket is, however unintentionally, linked to it all. What is more: when we do our weekly shopping, we are almost certainly contributing to the problem.
The good news is that you, as a consumer, can help to put an end to this horrific and cruel devastation of wildlife – you’re taking the first step now by reading this.

The trail starts on the island of Borneo. An area of rainforest the size of three football pitches is cut down every minute of every day. This tropical island – the third largest in the world – is under siege as never before from loggers and plantation owners. Along with the nearby island of Sumatra, Borneo’s rainforests – home to countless species of wildlife, many not yet scientifically identified – are being laid bare by loggers at a rate which exceeds the now legendary logging of the Amazon.

One animal that is critically suffering as a result also happens to be one of our closest relatives, the orangutan. Why? Largely to meet a fast-growing demand for a product that few shoppers will have even heard of, but is in many of the household items you buy: palm oil.

“The rate of loss of orangutans has never been greater than in the last three years, and oil-palm plantations are mostly to blame. We are facing a silent massacre, taking place far from where people can see what is going on. We need international co-operation now to address this crisis.” - Dr Willie Smits, Borneo Orangutan Survival Foundation’s Founder/Chairman

Palm oil can be grown perfectly well on degraded land, already cleared of forest – of which there are millions of hectares available in Southeast Asia. But this is not happening. Despite an abundance of degraded land available for plantations, many palm-oil companies are deliberately targeting forest areas for conversion.

Legitimate palm oil companies prefer first to cut down the forests, as this provides them with an immediate and extremely profitable source of income from logging before a single palm tree is planted. Less reputable companies secure a permit to clear rainforest to make way for new palmoil plantations (the only reason why they are granted a permit), but as soon as they have logged the forest, they disappear without trace, having made no attempt to cultivate the ground for oil palms.

As forest is cleared, there is the obvious problem of the loss of orangutan habitat. Orangutans, facing starvation, desperately seek food in the developing plantations, and are considered an agricultural pest. Plantation owners often put a bounty on their heads and the emaciated orangutans are easy targets for capture. The human-orangutan encounters can be quite horrific. Plantation workers often show no mercy; the orangutans are viciously attacked and tortured before being killed. If a mother is found with a baby, she will most likely be killed and the baby kept as a pet in a tiny cage or chained up. Many of these orphans will end up being traded internationally.

It is estimated that no less than 5,000 orangutans are killed every year. At this rate, complete extinction of one of our closest relatives would occur within 10 years.

Recent Signatures

Petition for the compulsory labelling of palm oil ingredients

Dear Representative,

To The Honourable President and members of the Senate in Parliament assembled:<br /> <br />The petition of the undersigned shows:<br />We wish to express our concern for the use of palm oil in Australia and New Zealand and the current policy on the labelling of palm oil in products. The use of palm oil is associated with serious environmental consequences in Indonesia and Malaysia.<br /> <br /> Primary rainforest is being cleared to make way for palm oil plantations, destroying the habitat of highly endangered species like the orangutan. Of additional concern are the health issues related to the consumption of palm oil, which is high in saturated fat. Palm oil is often labelled on ingredient lists as a generic ÃÂÂÂÂÂÃÃÃÂÂ

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