I've had a request for help Click a picture to enhance it. Blue text = a clickable link.I've had an email from Greenpeace asking for my help. It's a ' good ask' so I'm sharing some of the extracts and inviting you to consider helping too. The email begins like this : 'The world’s forests are home to millions of indigenous people, they are the lungs of the world - critical in the fight against climate change - and provide vital habitats for abundant wildlife. 'But forests are under threat from a greedy industry that clears, burns, chips and mills to make way for plantations to produce cheap goods for the world market - including New Zealand. 'It’s a global threat that requires a global response. And right now, the New Zealand Government has an opportunity to play a part in forest protection by passing a law to ensure that products entering Aotearoa (including products the Government itself procures) are not from industries contributing to the loss of the Earth's most precious forests or linked to human rights abuses. 'New Zealand must crack down on imports of the most high-risk commodities such as palm oil, palm kernel, pulp and paper, soy, animal products (like beef and leather), cocoa, coffee, and rubber. Know moreBefore I finish quoting the email I'd like us to know a bit more, so I've gone to a website called Rainforest Rescue which has a handle on issues like this. 'Palm oil is literally everywhere – in our foods, cosmetics, cleaning products and fuels. It’s a source of huge profits for multinational corporations, while at the same time destroying the livelihoods of smallholders. Displacement of indigenous peoples, deforestation and loss of biodiversity are all consequences of our palm oil consumption. How could it come to this? And what can we do in everyday life to protect people and nature?' Palm oil facts - more from Rainforest Rescue'At 66 million tons annually, palm oil is the most commonly produced vegetable oil. Its low world market price and properties that lend themselves to processed foods have led the food industry to use it in half of all supermarket products. Palm oil can be found in frozen pizzas, biscuits and margarine, as well as body creams, soaps, makeup, candles and detergents. 'Few people realize that almost half of the palm oil imported into the EU is used as biofuel. Since 2009, the mandatory blending of biofuels into motor vehicle fuels has been a major cause of deforestation. 'Oil palm plantations currently cover more than 27 million hectares of the Earth’s surface. Forests and human settlements have been destroyed and replaced by “green deserts” containing virtually no biodiversity on an area the size of New Zealand.' PersonalStatement and fact, as above, are okay but to get closer to reality I think we need a bit of biography set in context. Here is a five minute YouTube video from Human Rights Watch. Please click the arrow. Back to the Greenpeace email'Right now there is a political opportunity to strengthen New Zealand’s rules governing importation of products associated with forest destruction or human rights abuses, but we must act quickly.' The ‘Forest (Legal Harvest Assurance) Amendment Bill’ is before parliament and we’re calling on the Government to ensure that the law covers all forest risk commodities and requires business and Government to verify that the products they import have not come from deforestation or human rights abuses.' If you would like the New Zealand government 'to crack down on imports' of palm kernel and the like please sign the petition by clicking here. Beyond thatBeyond signing a petition, there are actions not specific to New Zealand that we can take wherever in the world we are reading this. Provided our eyesight is acute enough to see the tiny print, we can read the ingredient lists on items we buy. If a list includes palm oil we can refuse to buy that item. Consumer custom, consumer preference does influence. Yes, shopping will take longer but the extra effort may well help the future of the world. Worth a go? Talking with friends and colleagues is also worth a go. Many of them don't know about the connection between palm oil, or plantation creation in general, and deforestation. Raising awareness is a good thing isn't it? □ John McInnes Friday 29 July 2022 ##########
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