The Eden Project is currently featuring a brilliant display on work being done to prevent the destruction of tropical rain forests due to the massive expansion of oil palm. This oil, as we know, is high yielding and is used very very widely. Global demand means pressure on growers to produce more, and that means cutting down those precious tropical rainforests and replacing them with palm oil plantations.
So what can we do? Our wallets are our weapons!
- Check labels
- Buy products containing sustainable palm oil
- Use alternative oils
- Support projects working to make a difference. There are people out there doing it. Farnon Ellwood for example, spends much of his time in the canopy of the rainforests in Borneo. A wildlife heaven but under threat of the hell of destruction. He tells miraculous tales of experiences among the orangutans and being accepted by them up in the canopy. He is researching whether birds’ nest ferns can help in the journey to making palm oil sustainable.
Next time you’re at Eden, have a look at the display in the Tropical Biome, or have a read here.