Join the palm oil boycott

[inkabinkaboo182]

Hello all,
Today I launched a website, http://www.NoMorePalm.com, which I hope will spur many more people to boycott palm oil and palm ingredients. It is only in its very beginning stages, but please check it out, tell me your thoughts, tell me what information I have left out, and stay updated.

What I'm basically trying to do with this website is make it as easy as possible - and as interesting as possible - for anyone and everyone to give up products with palm oil in them. If you have any suggestions for how to do that which I haven't already put into the website, I'd love to hear them.

Thank you,
Ross

[EcoInteractive]

Hello all,
Today I launched a website, http://www.NoMorePalm.com, which I hope will spur many more people to boycott palm oil and palm ingredients. It is only in its very beginning stages, but please check it out, tell me your thoughts, tell me what information I have left out, and stay updated.

What I'm basically trying to do with this website is make it as easy as possible - and as interesting as possible - for anyone and everyone to give up products with palm oil in them. If you have any suggestions for how to do that which I haven't already put into the website, I'd love to hear them.

Thank you,
Ross

Good luck with your project. We will certianly support your efforts.

May I offer up a suggestion, wordpress.com offers a nice, free, easy to use blog that is great for adding content to your site. It is not that hard to actually host it under your own domain if that is your preference.

The documentary we are producing in Costa RIca deals with issues surrounding the Palm Oil Industry.

www.SavingMonoTiti.com

[inkabinkaboo182]

The website actually comes with a Wordpress account, so once I figure out how to use it I'll start posting stuff. I'd be happy to help promote your documentary a bit. Is it the Mono Titi stuff?

[EcoInteractive]

The website actually comes with a Wordpress account, so once I figure out how to use it I'll start posting stuff. I'd be happy to help promote your documentary a bit. Is it the Mono Titi stuff?

Yes, actually all we have at the we site is the first version of the documentary trailer. We plan to update it soon with narration.

We have a big project we are kicking off in the Spring that we want to feature in the documentary. Otherwise we have all the shooting in the can and we are ready to go into production. It is actually quite a fascinating story.

Wordpress is awesome by the way. In an hour or two you will be up and running. It is very easy to use.

[inkabinkaboo182]

Good luck with everything. Like I said, I'd be happy to keep people updated on your progress with my blog. What exactly is going on in Costa Rica with palm oil? I've only heard about it in Southeast Asia.

Also, could you help me with putting a new theme on my wordpress blog? I've found one I like, but I don't understand how to do it.

[EcoInteractive]

Good luck with everything. Like I said, I'd be happy to keep people updated on your progress with my blog. What exactly is going on in Costa Rica with palm oil? I've only heard about it in Southeast Asia.

Also, could you help me with putting a new theme on my wordpress blog? I've found one I like, but I don't understand how to do it.

Sure I am happy to help.

In the 1940's (not exactly sure of dates, maybe 50s) United Fruit Company (Chaquetta Banana) gave up banana production on the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica primarily because of the banana blight that essentially wiped out the entire crop (Bananas are wierd, they are essentially a giant herb, not a tree, you cut them off at the ground after every harvest and they grow back in a year). It is a big deal to replant a crop and they decided it was not worth it.

They replaced Banana with African Palm for no other real purpose than to keep control of the land. Costa Rica more or less had a "use it or loose it" policy and they insisted that they plant something but that they also not compete with any of the agricultural businesses controlled by the oligarchy of families that controlled Costa Rica at the time. They settled on African Palm really by default essentially for no other reason that it required virtually no labor. They had no market for it or any idea what to do with it really. It was just something to plant on the land so that they could continue to control the land. IN actuality the African Palm is less destructive to the environment than banana, but still vast areas of coastal habitat have been lost to what is essentially an unnecessary agricultural product.

Eventually they sold the operation to a group of Nicaraguans and it remains under their control to this day under the name Palma Tica.

You will also want to focus your attention on Brazil. Brazil has full bought into bio-fuels. They have been deforesting vast areas of virgin rain forest to expand their capacity. As I understand it, African Palm is the major component of that. What is happening there is just tragic.

In case you are not aware, bio fuels are quickly becoming the primary market for African Palm. Demand is increasing along with production as a result.

[inkabinkaboo182]

I'm actually thinking of focusing more on the food and cosmetics aspect of it, because most people aren't using biofuel. I'd still like to do some of the website focused on biofuel, but it's not something that would get most people participating, in my opinion.

Well, I'll private message you about Wordpress and hopefully we can work together to help each other and fight the palm plantations.

[EcoInteractive]

I'm actually thinking of focusing more on the food and cosmetics aspect of it, because most people aren't using biofuel. I'd still like to do some of the website focused on biofuel, but it's not something that would get most people participating, in my opinion.

Well, I'll private message you about Wordpress and hopefully we can work together to help each other and fight the palm plantations.

Sure that is understandable.

Just understand that it is bio fuels that is really driving up demand right now and is the primary reason so many more acres are coming into production everyday.

And hey, our approach is not to fight, but to persuade. We hope to present them with a better option. But we will certainly cooperate with what you are doing.

[inkabinkaboo182]

I meant "fight" figuratively, and I completely agree. If there's a way to reach people who are using palm oil as a biofuel, I'd be happy to do it.

[EcoInteractive]

I meant "fight" figuratively, and I completely agree. If there's a way to reach people who are using palm oil as a biofuel, I'd be happy to do it.

I wish I had an answer for you on that. Unfortunately it has become a part of government policy in Brazil and they are gearing up infrastructure to continue down that path. It is one to the largest AND fastest growing economies in the world and to a large extent it is being fueled by bio fuels.

[greenteadrinker]

Good luck to you both, but if you have a comment to each other in the future, please use
the pm button. The last several posts are wandering off the main topic about the boycott.
Thanks

[EcoInteractive]

Good luck to you both, but if you have a comment to each other in the future, please use
the pm button. The last several posts are wandering off the main topic about the boycott.
Thanks

I have been trying to think of a way to say this without getting in trouble again, but having a discussion about Palm Oil and not including Bio Diesel is a little like talking about the problems with American Manufacturing and leaving China out of the discussion.

If you would like I can put you in touch with African Palm growers that would be happy to explain to you that the consumer market for Palm Oil is really a secondary market at this point, particularly when petroleum is over $100 a barrel. In my humble opinion, you could have a 100% effective boycott of consumer products using Palm Oil and it would really have a negligible (if any) effect on the African Palm industry (in Latin America anyway, I have no more expertise than anyone else with regard to what is happening in Asia).

For the sake of argument, lets say that consumer products companies stop buying Palm Oil tomorrow. The truth is the Palm Oil that is not purchased by these companies will be quickly gobbled up for Bio Diesel at a price that is competitive with the price of petroleum.

Simply put: the supply of Palm Oil in the market for the purposes of making Bio Diesel is significantly less than the ever increasing demand. The market for Palm Oil is tied to the price of petroleum, not to demand in the consumer market.

Sorry for being "Off Topic", but that is the reality of the present day market for Palm Oil.

[inkabinkaboo182]

Thanks for that info. What can be done, then? A boycott just isn't an effective tool.

[EcoInteractive]

Thanks for that info. What can be done, then? A boycott just isn't an effective tool.

I think boycotting is an important part, but only a part. I am not saying don't boycott. Anything to bring awareness to what is happening is important. I wish I had an answer, the demand is growing so fast and these countries are racing to meet that demand by devastating their forests.

Honestly, In my humble opinion I think we are better off drilling for oil then destroying our precious rain forest for bio fuels. There really needs to be more awareness of what a truly bad idea Bio Fuels are. Of course it is primarily linked to keeping the Internal Combustion Engine in business. As a movement, we really need to let the world know that we made a mistake promoting bio fuels as sustainable alternative to oil.

Right now there are plan in the works for 2 massive electrical generation plants to be constructed in Hawaii that they plans to have run on Bio Fuels (palm oil) from Indonesia. Boycotting Hawaii travel would certainly wake them up.

What is happening in Brazil right now is truly heart breaking and the incredulous thing is that it is being done in the name of sustainability.

What is happening in Indonesia is equally shocking:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2IG1nVljrg

[SgtMaj]

Thanks EI, great info.

Price of oil goes up, bad things happen to the environment, price of oil goes down, bad things happen to the environment. What a catch 22.