How do Nutella, Velveeta, and Colgate toothpaste spell death for elephants and orangutans? They all contain the ingredient palm oil.

Palm oil is derived from the fruit of African oil palm trees. It is utilized in over 50% of todays products on the market. To keep up with the demand, thousands of kilometres of pristine rainforest are slashed and burned in order to make way for more oil palm plantations, almost all of which is produced in, and exported from, Indonesia and Malaysia.

One of the largest worldwide palm oil companies is Wilmar International. They have done illegal logging and set up new plantations, driving peasants off their land as well as finding new subsidiaries and bribing officials to side step the law.

The good news is-we CAN stop this. By being conscientious of  the things we buy, we can send a message to the palm oil companies that we do not want to be willing participants…