Action Briefing Dec 2005 - Jan 2006
	The Newsletter of Birmingham Friends of the Earth

Palm Oil Day of Action

On the cold, cold morning of the 29th October, local campaigners collected a giant poster of an orang-utan, some palm plants and other materials from the Warehouse and walked into the City Centre.

Our purpose? To take part in a nation-wide campaign calling on the government to strengthen the Company Law Reform Bill so that company directors must minimise the negative environmental and social impacts of their business. Palm oil and the threat to the survival of the orang-utan have been highlighted for this campaign, as the link from destructive palm oil plantations to supermarket products is undeniable.

Palm oil, a type of vegetable oil, can be found in 1 in 10 products in your local supermarket and is linked to human rights abuse, worker exploitation and rainforest destruction. Palm Oil plantations are the most significant cause of rainforest loss in Malaysia and Indonesia. In Indonesia, the area of land occupied by these plantations has doubled in the last 10 years. The palm oil industry is now considered by scientists as the biggest threat to the orang-utan. The industry could drive the orang-utan to extinction within 12 years.

We set up our stall outside Tesco Metro on New Street, Birmingham City Centre. Tesco was targeted by Friends of the Earth because, as the UK’s biggest and most profitable supermarket, it should take a leading role, ensuring it does not buy palm oil from destructive sources. However, a FoE survey has shown that 84 per cent of UK companies don't even know where their palm oil comes from. This is unacceptable considering the destruction caused from some of these plantations. Most UK supermarkets, importers and manufacturers have refused to take action on this.

This was my first Day of Action with Birmingham Friends of the Earth, and I looked forward to it. Although I have to say New Street on a Saturday is the busiest environment I have ever campaigned in. There was a good group of us, and although I didn’t last until the end, we were successful in raising awareness and getting postcards signed to our local MPs to call upon our Government to ensure companies minimise their negative environmental impacts.

I would encourage anyone to get involved in such a day of action, if you feel strongly about an issue and want to act for change then this might be the right opportunity for you.

Maud Grainger