I wonder if our Deputy Prime Minister YAB Tan Sri Dato' Haji Muhyiddin Bin Mohd Yassin had the opportunity to visit a Marks & Spencer store in London during his five day official visit to the UK. I don't think he would be pleased to see this five-foot standee that parades in strategic points at the store. Any customer or visitor to Marks & Spencer would think that palm oil is grown at the expense of rain forests. The likely result is that they would be anti palm oil in their consumption habits. I just wonder if Marks & Spencer is part of a bigger global campaign against palm oil? It has its sinister connotations.
Didn't the rainforests were cleared for the palm oil plantation?
ReplyDeleteMalaysian gov must correct this wrong perception in M&S ads if it is really a deception, otherwise the public would tend to believe it.
Well any crop plantation be it oil palm, soy bean, canola (rape seed), and etc, they all need land to grow. Basically, they are telling us don't buy any biscuit as land is clear for the crops citing palm oil as an example.
ReplyDeleteDon't buy at Mark & Spencer if you don't want harm to the planer. That what I understood.
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) tells Marks & Spencer a story that they are working to rehabitilate the rain forests in Borneo. Marks & Spencer in return tells the world how WWF are working with the governments of Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia to repair the damage. So it appears that our country and neighbours are singled out as culprits. Here's how Marks & Spencer puts it, "Our work on palm oil ties in with our partnership with the WWF, in particular our support of their conservation work in the Heart of Borneo region. This project aims to work with Malaysian, Indonesian and Brunei governments to end deforestation and to create incentives to make forests more valuable standing. The project will rehabilitate over 120 acres of forest - and work with forestry and plantation management companies to obtain sustainable certification for their practice. In addition to the wildlife corridor which has already been created, by 2011 a further 247 acres of damaged rainforest in the Heart of Borneo will be restored."
ReplyDeleteClaims of deforestation is nothing new. Wherever the rest of the world grow its crops and commodities, there's bound to be forests cleared. I have never been to the heart of Borneo to see the damage. And I wonder if the WWF and Marks & Spencer have been to the rest of the world to take developed nations to task.
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ReplyDeleteI wonder if Marks & Spencer has done its own independent research before being caustic on palm oil and before knocking countries like Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
ReplyDeleteAlan Oxley, chairman of the World Growth International, a US-based non-governmental organisation, said major palm oil producers should be wary as some groups like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace were campaigning to pressure processors and consumers to boycott the commodity and the European Union to block import.
In fact, the EU Renewable Energy Directive restricts the availability of palm oil, he said, adding that the World Growth had launched "Palm Oil Green Development" campaign to correct the myths, misconceptions and falsehoods perpetuated by these groups.
"Even if they cannot succeed in stopping palm oil expansion through the treaty, they can restrict trade and aid to countries that converts forest land to oil palm estates," he said, adding that such a move was contrary to the Bali Agreement which states that climatic change strategies should support and not undermine economic development.
Oxley said one reason for the smear campaign is because palm oil has become a strong competitor to other edible oil such as soyabean and rapeseed, accounting for 32 per cent of global production and 59 per cent annual export.
"Demand for palm oil has increased dramatically over the years. It has a number of advantages over competitor products. When new products have an impact on markets, there is a natural process of adjustment," he said.
He said palm oil cultivation has proven to be an effective tool in combating poverty, citing Malaysia and Indonesia where 40 per cent are owned by smallholders, and similar efforts are being taken to introduce the crop in Africa, Papua New Guinea, Brazil and Laos.
"It has become a substantial export and a key contributor to poverty alleviation and higher living standards. In the 80s when palm oil was grown in Malaysia, the World Bank rated palm oil cultivation as one of the most effective ways to resolve poverty," he said.
He also said oil palm uses less land than crop-based oilseeds, using only 0.26 hectares of land to produce one tonne of oil palm, while soyabean, sunflower and rapeseed need 2.2, 2 and 1.5 hectares, respectively.
On claims that the oil palm industry was destroying forest biodiversity in developing countries, Oxley said in Malaysia, world's second largest producer, the crop was restricted to 20 per cent of the state land allocated for agricultural purposes.
"Both Malaysia and Indonesia have set aside 55 per cent and 25 per cent respectively for forest conservation while the European average is 25 per cent.
"Both countries are also important contributors to programmes to protect endangered species such as the Orang Utan," he said.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation had stated that deforestation was largely due to human settlement and not commercial crop, he added.
-- BERNAMA
This blog "Anti-Palm Oil Campaigns: A Carefully Planned and Coordinated Global Agenda?" by Jon Tomcyzk says the palm oil industry is more than a century old and today, it is the most widely used edible oil in the world. With a productivity of 4.5 metric tons per hectare, compared to 0.5 metric tons per hectare typical of competing oil seeds, palm oil is popular with food manufacturers for several reasons.
ReplyDeleteFirst, as a function of its high productivity, it is relatively cheap. Secondly, as a vegetable oil, it is trans fat and cholesterol free. Thirdly, as a cooking oil, it is relatively tolerant of high cooking temperatures, making it a preferred edible oil for use in food manufacturing, baking and fast food chains. Finally, palm oil is naturally endowed with heart friendly vitamins such as Co-Enzyme Q10, beta-carotenes and tocotrienols ( a superior form of Vitamin E).
It is also suitable as a component of biofuel and bio-diesel and in view of its productivity and lower costs, its potential as feedstock in the production of bio-fuel and bio-diesel is enormous.
However, it is precisely for the above reasons that in recent times, palm oil has come increasingly under attack. First in the mid-eighties, the dubious Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) launched a scathing campaign alleging falsely that palm oil was unhealthy and bad for the heart. When the weight of scientific evidence was brought to bear on the issue, proving through many scientific studies that palm oil was, in fact heart friendly and good for health, CSPI quickly abandoned this campaign.
However, they were not done yet. In June 2005, CSPI changed tactics and launched another campaign called “Cruel Oil” alleging that palm oil production promotes destruction of the rainforest, particularly in Malaysia and Indonesia and that further loss of forest may push endangered animal species, including orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and Sumatran rhinos, into extinction.
Disingenuous and this is because Malaysia at that time was the world’s largest producer of palm oil. Despite cultivating palm oil for more than a century, the small country could still boast forest cover of more than 65% which is far higher than the 20% prevailing in the US and the industrialized west. Again, CSPI’s claims against Indonesia were also disingenuous because Indonesia can also boast of the same percentage of forest cover. The claims of potential extinction are totally unjustified because the orang utan population in the wild in Borneo alone currently stands at close to 69,000. Talk of extinction is, in the view of the Palm Oil Truth Foundation stretching the strings of credulity to breaking point!
To the Palm Oil Truth Foundation, what is disconcerting and patently obvious even to any casual reader is the manner in which the environmental organizations take turns to attack palm oil, launching their anti-palm oil campaigns one after the other, like an unethical game of opprobrious musical chairs. Organizations like Wetlands, followed immediately by Friends of the Earth who is then followed by Greenpeace and currently the Rainforest Action Network appears to have picked up the baton. Their campaigns appear to be well funded and the timing of their anti-palm oil campaign launches appears to be coordinated and carefully scheduled.
This clear pattern has emerged and it would not take a genius to figure out that some unseen hand is at work here. Just who is funding this anti-palm oil agenda?
In the view of the Palm Oil Truth Foundation, the obvious answer has to be a competing country or oil seed lobby – an industry that stands to lose big if palm oil continues to make exponential growth in its exports into the traditional edible oil seed markets. The advent of bio-fuel and bio-diesel and palm oils suitability as a feedstock for this green fuel appears to have triggered this “Stop Palm Oil At-All Costs” global agenda.
Marks & Spencer thinks they are creative enough by placing a five foot standee to banned palm oil. Their text "WE THINK" means they are unsure??? Get the facts right before condemning any party!
ReplyDeleteWithout any research, why should they do a hoo-haa about this? If they are able to plant palm oil in their Europe land, maybe they will be shut-up! Definitely palm oil demand is drastically booming, nevertheless it is at no harm to any party.
'Many critics of the Malaysian oil palm industry do not know that Malaysia agreed to generously keep aside its pristine natural tropical forests 15 years ago when the country pledged at the Rio Earth Summit to maintain a minimum of 50% of its land area under permanent forests. The policy behind the pledge remains intact as Malaysia today still has 56% of its area under permanent natural forests'.
'Malaysia aspires to be a developed country by the year 2020 and like most developed countries, conversion of forests into agriculture took place decades or centuries ago. In Malaysia deforestion for agriculture was pioneered by the British in the early part of the 20th Century when forest areas zoned for agriculture were cleared to plant initially coffee, then rubber and later oil palm as dictated by the feasibility of producing such crops during that time. Even after Malaysia achieved independence in 1957, the development of agriculture continued, as until then the benefits of plantation agriculture were mainly enjoyed by the British who owned most of the large plantation companies'.
For more info please go to:-
http://www.ceopalmoil.com/what-deforestation/
honestly, just because the more developed countries are telling us to keep our forests because of reallllllyyyyy obvioussss reasons, we get so angry and childish. we say, "oh dulu kau buat boleh, aku buat tak boleh pulakk..." haisss... come on man. grow up! gahh im so embarrassed to know that so many... ah nevermind. you see, deforestation is not our only major concern. there are other things as well like biodiversity. and that doesnt just mean orang utan. seriously, you guys have got to stop saying that because it just shows how uneducated we can be about certain things. now, i dont know what respectable field you guys are in, but i'm from the science field and there are MANY things that i've learnt that has made me more wary about how we are expanding our oil palm plantations and its impacts. you guys should look it up too. you would never ever think that things like population genetics and all that would be one of the main reasons did you? hahaha... haih there are a lot lah. if you guys read even a bit of ecology you guys would understand. please look it up. and what about the food vs fuel issue? let them die of starvation so long we can sell our palm oil to the europeans? haih... so delusional. so blinded by growth and profit. and oh God pleeeaaassee stop trying to justify our actions by repeatedly saying that malaysia has 55% of its forests reserved. we all know very well just how our laws are enforced. just look at sarawak with taib mahmud.. hellooo, illegal logging? haish.... and besides so what if its 55%? that was set a long time ago, and obviously times have changed. we know more now about the importance of the forests. its value has increased (scientifically, economically), whether you guys know that or not. please lah! i mean im sure you guys have the best of intentions, but seriously, its all screwed up. im so sorry for being blatant about my views like this, but yeah. if only you guys can really look into the problem seriously, then maybe you guys can have an inkling of why there are so many people concerned about our palm oil. and let me just say la, palm oil is great, without it i wouldnt be where i am, but really though, we cant afford to keep clearing rainforests for oil palm plantations as we really need to think how it will affect us long term. and just please give this whole "the rich is out to get us" thing a rest. its very unbecoming. embarrassing. peace =)
ReplyDeletehonestly, just because the more developed countries are telling us to keep our forests because of reallllllyyyyy obvioussss reasons, we get so angry and childish. we say, "oh dulu kau buat boleh, aku buat tak boleh pulakk..." haisss... come on man. grow up! gahh im so embarrassed to know that so many... ah nevermind. you see, deforestation is not our only major concern. there are other things as well like biodiversity. and that doesnt just mean orang utan. seriously, you guys have got to stop saying that because it just shows how uneducated we can be about certain things. now, i dont know what respectable field you guys are in, but i'm from the science field and there are MANY things that i've learnt that has made me more wary about how we are expanding our oil palm plantations and its impacts. you guys should look it up too. you would never ever think that things like population genetics and all that would be one of the main reasons did you? hahaha... haih there are a lot lah. if you guys read even a bit of ecology you guys would understand. please look it up. and what about the food vs fuel issue? let them die of starvation so long we can sell our palm oil to the europeans? haih... so delusional. so blinded by growth and profit. and oh God pleeeaaassee stop trying to justify our actions by repeatedly saying that malaysia has 55% of its forests reserved. we all know very well just how our laws are enforced. just look at sarawak with taib mahmud.. hellooo, illegal logging? haish.... and besides so what if its 55%? that was set a long time ago, and obviously times have changed. we know more now about the importance of the forests. its value has increased (scientifically, economically), whether you guys know that or not. please lah! i mean im sure you guys have the best of intentions, but seriously, its all screwed up. im so sorry for being blatant about my views like this, but yeah. if only you guys can really look into the problem seriously, then maybe you guys can have an inkling of why there are so many people concerned about our palm oil. and let me just say la, palm oil is great, without it i wouldnt be where i am, but really though, we cant afford to keep clearing rainforests for oil palm plantations as we really need to think how it will affect us long term. and just please give this whole "the rich is out to get us" thing a rest. its very unbecoming. embarrassing. peace =)
ReplyDelete