Following the release of a new report, activists around the world are taking action to tell Nestle - the largest food and drink company in the world - to stop sourcing palm oil from rainforest destroyers.
The report: "Caught Red Handed: How Nestle's Use of Palm Oil is Having a Devastating Impact on Rainforest, the Climate and Orangutans" exposes how Nestle's growing use of palm oil is linked to companies involved in the destruction of forests and peatlands in the Paradise Forest region of Southeast Asia.
The Paradise Forest region is one of the most important, but highly threatened, tropical forest regions on the planet. With world-renowned wildlife diversity, the rainforest islands of Paradise are home to critically endangered orangutans, Sumatran tigers, and spectacular birds that exist nowhere else on Earth. But with a world-record breaking deforestation rate, there's not much time to protect their habitat.
On top of that, record deforestation has made Indonesia the world's leading climate polluter after China and the U.S.
That's why Greenpeace is hitting hard and moving fast. Seven hours after the report release this morning, Nestle took a small step in the right direction. In a statement released this morning from its Swiss headquarters, the food and drink giant stated that it will stop buying palm oil directly from notorious rainforest destroyer Sinar Mas group.
But, that's not the end of the story. This action by Nestle is long-overdue and doesn't address the big palm oil problems facing the company. Nestle gets a lot more palm oil from Sinar Mas and other destructive suppliers through traders; companies like Cargill that combine, refine and distribute palm oil to corporate customers. So, with your help, Greenpeace will continue to push Nestle cut Sinar Mas from its supply chain completely and become a public advocate for peatland protection and a deforestation moratorium.
In the meantime, clearly worried for their brand image, Nestle petitioned YouTube to remove the new Greenpeace campaign video "Have a break?" due to a copyright claim. If Nestle is really concerned about its corporate image, it should prioritize cutting its links to forest destruction instead.
This move has not stopped Greenpeace from spreading the message, and you can now view the video on Vimeo.
Have a break? from Greenpeace UK on Vimeo.
Note that the (somewhat shocking) video plays off Nestle's popular (and palm oil filled) Kit Kat candy bar. Greenpeace is using this video outside of the U.S. because in this country, Kit Kat is licensed to, and made by Hershey's. While Hershey's version of Kit Kat also includes palm oil, the new Greenpeace report does not investigate the company's palm oil sourcing. With that in mind, view the spoof advertisement to show Nestle you don't like rainforest destruction or corporate meddling with YouTube videos!
And, most important, spread the word and send a message to Nestle today!