Palm Oil - sustainability is the solution

I watched this video on the WWF website, explaining how we solve the environmental destruction caused by Palm Oil plantations. 


Sustainable Palm oil production from WWF on Vimeo.

• Indonesia is the largest producer of palm oil, and as a result they are losing their rainforests at an alarming rate - often by slash and burn techniques. 
• 50% of packaged products in our supermarkets contain palm oil. 
• However; 45% of the palm oil in Indonesia is produced by smallholders (farmers that cultivate under 50 hectares of land) who rely on this income to lift them out of poverty. 
• The solution is to therefore work towards sustainable palm oil - RSPO certification. 
• This means reductions in the use of chemicals and farming methods that produce higher yields, therefore preventing these plantations expanding further into the rainforest. 
• WWF funds the education of these smallholder farmers so they can gain RSPO certification, and therefore protect the Orangutangs habitat. 
• RSPO certification, however, will only work if consumers support it, this why people need to only buy sustainable palm oil products.