- Joined
- Jan 14, 2014
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I have an import expert 3 houses down from me, and palm oil has come up a few times - especially when he travels there every summer. The palm industry does fed some people. It also starves others - especially the traditional indigenous people who live in and/or from the bounty of the rain forest.
The soil under the rain forest is unique, and planting one type of vegetation en masse will not support the maintenance of that unique structure so the monsoons will end up causing frequent and massive landslides.
Many native people believe palm is their only salvation, but it will be their eventual ruin unless someone makes the effort to educate them in land management and sustainable practices. There's a million more complex issues as well - but my eyes start to glaze over after hearing him (my neighbor) talk for an hour.
I chose to forgo palm. Sometimes I start to think like kchaystack - that my little bit of use won't make a difference. But it does. Just like my single vote for a presidential candidate - it does matter. It may not change the world, but it changes my world.
In an 18 month period, I've used over 100 pounds of animal fats instead of palm. And I'm about halfway through another 50 lb block of lard. My skin believes that palm contributes little but hardness to a bar, and that lard is king. My conscience says its better to use a product from an animal already dead, then to give any more reason to destroy living habitat and life.
The soil under the rain forest is unique, and planting one type of vegetation en masse will not support the maintenance of that unique structure so the monsoons will end up causing frequent and massive landslides.
Many native people believe palm is their only salvation, but it will be their eventual ruin unless someone makes the effort to educate them in land management and sustainable practices. There's a million more complex issues as well - but my eyes start to glaze over after hearing him (my neighbor) talk for an hour.
I chose to forgo palm. Sometimes I start to think like kchaystack - that my little bit of use won't make a difference. But it does. Just like my single vote for a presidential candidate - it does matter. It may not change the world, but it changes my world.
In an 18 month period, I've used over 100 pounds of animal fats instead of palm. And I'm about halfway through another 50 lb block of lard. My skin believes that palm contributes little but hardness to a bar, and that lard is king. My conscience says its better to use a product from an animal already dead, then to give any more reason to destroy living habitat and life.
