Transcript Palm Oil
Oil Palm The Cultural, Environmental, and Economic Importance Did you know? “Borneo and Sumatra are two of the most bio-diverse regions of the world, yet they have the longest list of endangered species. This list includes the magnificent orangutan. These two SouthEast Asian islands are extremely rich in life, containing around 20,000 flowering plant species, 3,000 tree species, 300,000 animal species and thousands more being discovered each year. Despite this amazing biodiversity and delicate web of species, an area the size of 300 football fields of rainforest is cleared each hour in Indonesia and Malaysia to make way for the production of one vegetable oil. That's 6 football fields destroyed each minute. This vegetable oil is called palm oil, and is found in hundreds of the everyday products, from baked goods and confectionery, to cosmetics and cleaning agents... many of which you buy in your weekly shopping. “ Choose a Topic About this PPT Click “Home” to choose a new topic Click “Information” to view images Click “Return” to see the topic again Deforestation Palm oil plantations are rapidly replacing the natural rainforest The forest is logged of all its precious hardwood timber The soil is completely drained of its vital nutrients over time Deforestation is the source of many other environmental problems Deforestation Images Orangutans 6 to 12 are killed each day for palm oil Over 90% of their habitat already destroyed in the last 20 years Often run over by logging machinery, beaten to death, buried alive or set on fire Sold on the illegal pet trade Will be extinct in the wild within 3 to 12 years Orangutans Images Ecosystems Many tree species can only germinate once passed through the gut of an orangutan; so if the orangutan is removed from the ecosystem, so is the tree species Species that rely on those trees as a main food source will also be removed from the system Will become so disconnected it will eventually become non-existent Upset the climate, change global weather patterns and increase the chances of natural disasters Ecosystems Images Palm Oil Around 50 million tons of palm oil is produced annually Mainly used in foods, cosmetics and cleaning agents, but it can also be found in some bio-fuels A large percentage of products in your household will contain palm oil You often don't know if products you are buying contribute to this detrimental destruction Palm Oil Images Native People The plantations destroy the rainforest land that the local people depend on Employed as plantation workers, operating under extremely dangerous conditions and barely earning enough money to survive Destroying the forest is destroying the livelihood and culture of these unique people The pollution caused by production is an everyday challenge Native People Images Global Warming Responsible for polluting rivers and causing land erosion Produces immense amount of smoke pollution that is toxic to planet earth Second biggest contributor to greenhouse gas in the world Rainforest trees and vegetation filter carbon dioxide out of the air, but we are cutting rainforests down Global Warming Images But have a nice day… For more information, including suffering species, images, and videos, go to www.saynotopalmoil.com Support sustainable Palm Oil products like ALAFFIA!