Rainforest Action Network on Palm Oil
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 03.25.08
We haven't had a good rant about palm oil for quite a while; our friends at the Palm Oil Truth Foundation have even stopped sending us comments. But the issue has certainly not gone away. The Rainforest Action Network is going after Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge and Cargill, noting that "ADM is deeply involved in the production and marketing of both palm oil and soy. It is also one of the greatest recipients of corporate welfare, which means taxpayers are subsidizing ADM’s role in rainforest destruction. ADM is also the strongest promoter of agrofuels in the United States. and "Cargill is the most powerful agribusiness and commodity trading group in the world. It is involved in producing and marketing palm oil and soy grown on freshly cleared rainforest lands. In 2003, Cargill built an illegal soy port on the Amazon River which doubled deforestation rates in the area."
Their demands:
-Stop land clearing and deforestation for agrisprawl.
- Respect land rights. Indigenous and local communities must be able to give free, prior and informed consent before any industrial activity takes place on their land.
- Oppose slave labor. Fair and safe working conditions for all workers.
- Stop using dangerous herbicides and pesticides.
- Do not spread or promote the use of genetically modified crops.
- Respect food sovereignty and people’s right to define their own food, energy and agricultural systems.
- Do not produce or promote the use of industrial agrofuels, especially those sourced from tropical ecosystems.
- Don’t break the law. Comply with all local, national and international environmental, labor and agricultural laws.
did that rainforest port on the amazon river end up getting closed down in the end? I remember hearing that it was breaking environmental laws and it may have been closed down by the government.