In rainforests half a world away from the United States, orangutans are making their last stand for survival. Scientists warn that these gentle and intelligent animals, among humankind’s closest kin, could become extinct within our lifetime if their rainforest homes continue to be destroyed for palm oil plantations. But the primary threat pushing them toward extinction lies much closer to home than you may think: you’ll find it hidden in the snack food aisle of your local grocery store, and likely in your own shopping cart. (Rainforest Action Network, learn more here: http://www.conflictpalmoil.org/.) Palm oil is used in nearly everything, from cosmetics to candy, but this cheep exploited resource has a devastating price.
THE AD DORITOS DOESN'T WANT YOU TO SEE:
http://action.sumofus.org/a/doritos-video/
“When you eat food that comes out of a bag, a box, or a package of any kind, chances are you are eating palm oil. It is added to chocolate, turned into fry oil, and snuck into snacks of all sorts—in fact, it can now be found in roughly half the packaged food products sold in grocery stores. This palm oil comes at a terrible human and environmental cost. Skyrocketing demand has driven massive, industrial palm oil plantations into millions of acres of formerly lush rainforest habitat in Indonesia and Malaysia, worsening climate change and causing widespread human rights violations.” (R.A.N.)
SEE MORE ABOUT THE CONFLICTS CREATED for Orungutan's BY THE PALM OIL INDUSTRY: http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/2015/01/29/rescued-orangutan-cruel-pet-trade/?awesm=a.ran.org_h0r
‘As the palm oil industry has expanded, orangutans and other wildlife pay the price. “When the forest is cleared, adult orangutans are typically shot on sight,” Zimmerman explains. “These peaceful, sentient beings are beaten, burned, mutilated, tortured and often eaten. Babies are literally torn off their dying mothers so they can be sold on the black market as illegal pets to wealthy families who see them as status symbols of their own power and prestige.” Other animals end up in zoos or wildlife parks. The exact number of orangutans that enter the pet trade is not known, but the organization Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia estimates it at more than 1,000 per year.’ Scientific American.
Not only are we looking at the endangerment and loss of orangutans, the cutting down and burning of the lungs of our planet, the rainforest itself is an irreplaceable loss.
Modern-Day Plague Deforestation is clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in damage to the quality of the land. The world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred years at the current rate of deforestation. Every minute, we lose an area 29 times the size of the Pentagon! Every day, we lose an area larger than all five boroughs of New York City! Every week, we lose an area twice the size of Rhode Island! Every month, we lose an area the size of Belize! Every year, we lose an area more than twice the size of Florida! Though this is not due solely to conflict oil, this is certainly another huge consideration for the argument against further use of palm oil under these circumstances.
Consider that:
“A four-mile square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125 mammal species, 400 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 60 species of amphibians, and 150 different species of butterflies. There are more fish species in the Amazon river system than in the entire Atlantic Ocean. At least 1/3 of the planet’s bird species live in the Amazon rainforest. The Andean mountain range and the Amazon jungle are home to more than half of the world’s species of flora and fauna. At least 1,650 rainforest plants can be utilized as alternatives to our present fruit and vegetable staples. 37% of all medicines prescribed in the US have active ingredients derived from rainforest plants. 70% of the plant species identified by the US National Cancer Institute as holding anti-cancer properties come from rainforests. A hectare (2.471 acres) of rainforest absorbs one ton of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year. Conversely, the clearing and burning of the world’s rainforest accounts for 20-25% of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere by man.”
“Almost half of the world’s original four billion acres of rainforest are now gone. The lost area equals the combined size of Washington, Idaho, California, Nevada and Arizona.
Man has recently increased nature’s "normal" extinction rate by 10,000%. By conservative estimates, 9,000 species are going extinct each year, most of them from the rainforests. We are presently experiencing the largest mass extinction since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago; only this time it’s occurring at a much faster rate."
https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/rainforestactionnetwork/pages/2367/attachments/original/1405470759/conflict_palm_oil_lowres_(1).compressed.pdf?1405470759
Perhaps you are one among many who can appreciate the value of the life being jeopardized and lost. We are all connected in a web of life and this is not just a utopian belief, this is scientific fact. Every single organism and creature on this planet has a purpose, and a right to live free and in safety. We have lost so much of our connection to nature, to the planet, and through that, we have lost a large part of our connection to ourselves. It is time to reconnect with the sacred spirit of our earth, and all the beautiful life we are blessed with. We must find new ways to live, however inconvenient they may be at first, we can adjust if that is what it takes to find harmony and restore balance. Humanity is not just a label, it is a mindset, it is is meant to represent the evolution of a species consciously, and with compassion. Be a part of the humanity we need to heal this destruction. We are the change, we are the shift into responsible action and awareness.
SEE MORE ON HOW TO BE A PART OF THE CHANGE BELOW:
http://news.mongabay.com/2013/0912-conflict-palm-oil.html
SEND YOUR MESSAGE TO THE COMPANIES USING CONFLICT OIL: R.A.N. is collecting 60,600 names to send to 20 snack food companies using "Conflict Palm Oil" in their products, one for every known wild orangutan remaining. http://www.inyourpalm.org/
**The above link will not take you to the petition immediately, I apologize for that, select the home page for Rainforest Action Network and you will see a slideshow header, simply click on the campaign for the Snack Food 20 when it scrolls up (you will be able to tell, because it will have multiple recognizable business logo's in the picture, such as Kellogg.)
And be a part of the Palm Oil Action Leaders Summit!! Learn more here: http://www.ran.org/palm_oil_action_leaders_summit?utm_source=l.facebook.com&awesm=a.ran.org_s1T&utm_content=awesm-inlinelinkcreator&utm_campaign=null&utm_medium=a.ran.org-twitter
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