Analysis Of Palm Oil Companies Vs. Animals

The orangutan, one of the world’s great apes, resides on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The forests of these islands are being destroyed in order to create palm oil plantations. Palm oil is in high demand due to its uses as a biofuel and as a vegetable oil. The palm oil industry is a major threat to the survival of the critically endangered orangutans, due to loss of habitat. This leads to illegal poaching since the orangutans are viewed as pests, leaving many young infants orphaned and alone. There are rescue groups that rehabilitate these great apes, but more must be done in order to prevent the extinction of this rapidly declining species. Sustainable palm oil options need to be researched and utilized and there should

Because orangutans are so well adapted for the ecological niche they occupy, it is understandable why their populations suffer when their habitat is destroyed. In fact, in the last 20 years orangutans have lost nearly 80% of their natural habitat largely due to deforestation. Between the years of 1999 and 2006 roughly 55% of that deforestation was due to the expansion of the palm oil industry. Furthermore, Indonesia and Malaysia combined account for nearly 87% of the global output of palm oil with Indonesia generating about 18.7 and Malaysia 17.4 million tons a year. When considering these statistics, it raises questions about why this industry is seemingly more relevant than conserving natural resources and more importantly protecting an invaluable species of ape from extinction. To answer this question, it might be helpful to consider how the vast majority views the palm oil industry by comparison to the orangutans in terms of economics.

Palm oil is a vegetable oil high in saturated fats extracted from the palm fruit, the palm tree is a native plant to West Africa then was imported into South East Asia in the mid-19th century. It is one of the most popular edible oils and is being used in approximately 50% of products currently in the supermarkets of Australia including cosmetics, toiletries and food. Malaysia and Indonesia grows around 87% of palm oil while Australia imports about 130,000 tonnes of palm oil every year. Due to the oil plantations being in countries where there

For instance, in grassland, there are three living beings, wolves, sheep, and grasses. The food chain of them is wolves eat sheep, and sheep eat grasses. They are all necessary in the food chain. For instance, if without wolves which are sheep’s natural enemy, sheep will keep growing until they eat all of grasses, and then grassland will be a desert, and sheep will become extinct because of no food. However, if there are only wolves and grasses, that will also be horrible. Grasses will keep growing, and wolves will die out, due to no food, and no space for living. It is also a problem, if there are no grasses. Wolves will become extinct after sheep die out. In other words, balance is important than everything in an ecosystem. The food chain is similar with logging in the Park. If government does not allow logging in the Park, those trees will keep growing, visitors will be difficult to visit or hike in the Park, and the accident rate will be increased. However, if government allows clear-cutting in the Park, it will destroy Algonquin Park. In Wikipedia, the definition of Clear-cutting is “a forestry practice in which most or all trees in an area are uniformly cut down.”(Wikipedia) There are still two logging methods, Shelter-wood and Selection-cutting. “Shelter-wood refers to a progression of forest cuttings leading to the establishment of a new generation of seedlings of a particular species or group of species without planting.” (Wikipedia) ,and the explanation of Selection cutting is “the silvicultural practice of harvesting trees in a way that moves a forest stand towards an uneven-aged or all-aged condition, or 'structure'.” (Wikipedia) At present, there are 3% areas of Algonquin Park is Clear-cutting, 47% is Shelter-wood, and 50% is Selection cutting. Clear-cutting should not be allowed in the Park, it

Because of the sale of illegal ivory so many elephants' lives are put at risk. If the poaching of elephants and ever-growing trade in illegal ivory is to be seriously addressed, part of the solution to this complex problem must be a return to the full ban on the sale of ivory established in 1989 (Bloody Ivory). Between 434,000 and 684,000 African savanna elephants in 18 countries remain, down 30% in the last seven years. Once again levels of poaching and illegal trade have spiraled out of control. Rates of poaching are now the worst they have been since 1989. There are no easy answers, but a total ivory trade ban is the one strategy we know has worked (Mary Rice). Hong Kong seized 779 elephant tusks three days into 2013, over a ton of ivory,

Repercussions of burning oil have arisen more progressively. The debatable topic of global warming holds burning fossil fuels responsible for higher temperatures in colder climates. An article by World Book explains why oil is so harmful towards the environment. As more cars are produced more pollutants are released into the atmosphere, those pollutants cause smog in larger manufacturing oriented cities as well as, acid rain. Factories, burning oil, dispose of the remaining chemicals into bodies of water rendering them unsafe to drink for both humans and animals alike (Hunt par. 1). Another article produced through World Book describes the

The species and places depend on intricate ecosystems, and even small changes to the climate can disrupt the delicate balance of nature.

Forest degradation increases year by year. it has been an ongoing problem throughout the reserve. Other logging incursions have destroyed several other prime overwintering

Indigenous Beings and Animals: Furthermore, In “Oil Extraction and Indigenous Livelihoods in the Northern Ecuadorian Amazon” the article speaks about how the constant drilling for oil and extraction of minerals, constantly penetrates into the lives of indigenous people, undermining their lives and well being. This article proves my point that by the constant need to destroy our planet by extracting oil, the lives of those around it are being affected. Factors such as pollution and contamination as well as deforestation causes the indigenous people to move from their homes, and it affects those that don 't, through diseases and other side effects of the exploitation of oil. In essence, this either means that our society thinks less of the

Palm oil harvest often leads to deforestation of the rainforests, and raises many ethical concerns from the public, (Levitt, 2015).

The first article by Lian Pin Koh and David S. Wilcove discusses the appearance of palm oil in society and the growing predominance it has had in world over time. They provide a detailed summary of where palm oil is predominately produced, and what this production has done to the environment over the last few decades. The platform in which the article was written is with a focus on how the non-governmental organizations are benefiting from the production, as well as how the production has caused irreparable damage.The second article written by the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) uses numerous detailed examples, data

Agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation because as human population grows the need for agricultural products increases. Unfortunately, the land used for cultivation results in the displacement of tree reliant animals such as the orangutan. “Without forests, orangutans cannot survive” (Galdikas). Palm oil is produced from trees grown in large plantations in regions where tropical rainforests once existed. The orangutans’ way of life revolves around the existence of trees, they nest in trees, drink water out of holes, and eat their fruit. Orangutans also

Rainforests are the most diverse biomes on the earth. The rainforest house many different species and support the lives of the indigenous tribes who depend on the forests for habitat, food, and way of life. The palm oil companies are spreading to many parts of the world, taking out regions of the forest in order to make room for their palm oil plantations. Palm oil is found in 50% of products we use every day from items like shampoo and conditioner to the food we eat (Rainforest Rescue 2013). If the rain forests are fragmented too much, not only will it cause the species to possibly go extinct but it will cause issues with tribes like the Waorani, who are nomadic and depend on the forest for food, shelter, and clothes. If we treat the

Many including Rothkopf, Grunwalf, and Ruiz-Marrero claim that biofuel is not the solution but rather will become a problem. They claim that if biofuel was produced in large quantity then agriculture would convert from food to fuel. According to the World Bank, over seventy five percent of the rises in food prices is directly caused by biofuel. Indonesia is the leading producer of palm oil, a major biofuel. In order to increase productivity, the people destroyed thousands of trees to plant palm tree. The destruction led to an increase in carbon production. Indonesia moved from the 21st most carbon producer to the third. Another major producer of biofuel is Brazil. If Brazilian farmers were to deforest the Amazon rainforest, it could cause a fifty percent increase in global warming. Through the world, deforestation accounts for over twenty percent of carbon emission. A gallon of biofuel requires the same amount of grain as a person would eat in a year. The switch from food to fuel would cause a worldwide food shortage and an increase in world hunger.

Palm oil is a type of edible vegetable oil that is derived from the palm fruit, grown on the African oil palm tree. They are originally from Western Africa, but can develop wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Today, palm oil is grown throughout Africa, Asia, North America, and South America, with 85% of all palm oil globally produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia but most of the time not using sustainable measures. In total, 50 million tons of palm oil is produced annually, supplying over 30% of the world’s vegetable oil production. During the past decade, the orangutan population has decreased by approximately 50 percent in the wild. This is primarily due to human activities including rainforest destruction for palm oil plantations. At present, 80 percent of orangutan habitat has been altered or lost. Wildlife such as orangutans has been found buried alive, killed from machete attacks, guns and other weaponry.