As the food industry has moved away from trans fats, the demand for cheap conflict palm oil has skyrocketed. It can now be found in roughly half of all packaged goods in your local grocery store — from cookies and crackers to toothpaste and laundry detergent.
But what is the real cost of palm oil?
Too often, exploited and forced labor, rainforest destruction and climate chaos are ignored by corporations focused solely on reaping the highest profits possible.
Palm oil plantations are pushing into the heart of some of the world’s most culturally and biologically diverse ecosystems.
Conflict Palm Oil is driving iconic species like the Sumatran orangutan, tiger, elephant and rhino to the brink of extinction.
Conflict Palm Oil perpetuates massive human and labor rights violations, as palm oil companies forcefully remove Indigenous Peoples and local communities from their land for new palm oil plantation development. Child labor, modern day slavery and other forms of worker exploitation are common occurrences on plantations in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Exploited workers, rainforest destruction, species extinction: it’s a package deal for Conflict Palm Oil.
Too many companies think they can hide the true cost of their products. They think no one will notice. They think increasing profits is an excuse for almost anything.
But people like you are speaking out across the globe. Together, let’s stand with workers and communities on the frontlines of palm oil expansion.
Together, we can break the link between the snack foods that line our grocery store shelves and human rights abuses, deforestation and climate chaos.