Say NO to Palm Oil

Orangutans are literally dying for cookies, according to a new report from Center for Science in the Public Interest, titled Cruel Oil: How Palm Oil Harms Health, Rainforest, and Wildlife. Not only does palm oil promote heart disease, but the vast plantations that grow palm trees for oil have contributed to the destruction of the rainforest and wildlife of Southeast Asia.

Seeking to eliminate trans fats which come from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, many cookie makers—Keebler, Oreo, Mrs. Field's, Pepperidge Farm among others—are switching to palm oil to make their cookies and other baked goods. Palm oil, although less harmful than partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, is far more conducive to heart disease than heart-protecting liquid oils such as olive, soy and canola. Furthermore, while some palm oil is produced in an environmentally sustainable manner, most palm oil comes from decidedly non-sustainable sources. In Malaysia and Indonesia, where most palm oil is produced, irreplaceable rainforest is being cleared to produce timber and then replanted with oil palm trees. Those rainforests provided critically important habitat for Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, Sumatran rhinos and tigers, and other endangered species. The steady loss of rainforest is pushing those species ever closer to extinction.

If you enjoy any of the cookies made by the cookie makers mentioned here, we ask that you send their CEO a letter urging them to reformulate their products to make them not just heart-healthy but environmentally friendly as well. We've included a sample letter below, along with a list of CEOs' names and addresses.

We also urge you to sign a letter the Center for Science in the Public Interest plans to send to the President and CEO of Wal-Mart, as Wal-Mart and Sam's Club not only sell many other brands of cookies made with palm oil but their own house brands are made with it as well. Click here for CSPI's letter to Wal-Mart.

CEO Names and Addresses

Keebler:
James M. Jenness, CEO
Kellogg Corporate World Headquarters
One Kellogg Square
P.O. Box 3599
Battle Creek , MI 49016-3599

Oreo:
Roger K. Deromedi, CEO
Kraft Foods Inc.
Three Lakes Drive
Northfield , IL 60093

Mrs. Field's:
Stephen Russo, President and CEO
Mrs. Field's Famous Brands, LLC
2855 East Cottonwood Parkway, Ste. 400
Salt Lake City , UT 84121

Pepperidge Farm:
Douglas R. Conant, President and CEO
Campbell Soup Company
Campbell Place
Camden , NJ 08103

Sample Letter

[CEO Name]
[Company Name]
[Address]

Dear [CEO Name],

Food processors are increasingly turning to palm oil as a replacement for partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which is a major source of artery-clogging trans fat. Well-intended as those changes are, they pose two serious problems.

Unfortunately, while some palm oil is produced in an environmentally sustainable manner, most palm oil comes from decidedly non-sustainable sources. In Malaysia and Indonesia, irreplaceable rainforest is being cleared every day to produce timber and then replanted with oil palm trees. Those rainforests provided critically important habitat for Sumatran and Bornean orangutans, Sumatran rhinos and tigers, and other endangered species. The steady loss of rainforest is pushing those species ever closer to extinction.

Furthermore, palm oil is not ideal for human consumption, because it is almost as unhealthful as partially hydrogenated oil. In most instances, better substitutes are available. Many companies that have taken partially hydrogenated oil out of their cookies, crackers, and other foods have found that such healthful oils as high-oleic canola, soybean, corn, peanut, sunflower, and interesterified soybean oil are perfectly suitable alternatives. All of those oils are healthier for people and much less destructive to the environment.

I urge you to take a leadership position in the food industry by implementing a corporate policy that would involve reformulating any products you now make with palm oil, using as little as possible when its use cannot be avoided (and when that is the case, obtaining it from environmentally sustainable sources).

We can find other ways of making cookies. We can't find other ways of making orangutans. Thank you for your consideration.

Signed by:

[Your name]
[Your address]

For more information see:

www.cspinet.org/palm