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Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up in Everything--And Endangered the World by Jocelyn C. Zuckerman
confirmyourpassword's review
challenging
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.5
It's really hard to read about the complete devastation wrought to humans, non-humans, and the environment in Planet Palm without feeling pure rage, and Zuckerman does a great job of plainly stating the horrors of industrial agriculture without overly moralizing about the ecological destruction, land theft, and worker exploitation that comes with it. I didn't know anything about palm oil production and this book gives all the context necessary to understand where we are today. There's some optimistic developments grounded in cynical realism, but overall an depressing but instructive read.
There's two things of note that might turn off some readers:
There's two things of note that might turn off some readers:
- There's tons of little tidbits, trivia, and factoids that help ground each chapter in a specific place and time. I knew most of them so I found it fascinating to connect all of these disparate facts into an interlinked web of history, but a lot of them can be niche and may make it boring and/or frustrating to read if you aren't into that.
- The prose is somewhat inconsistent and bounces around between formal and informal voice, which is noticeable but doesn't especially affect the content of the text.
11corvus11's review
DNF. Important topic and not badly written. Just personally got bored with it as an audiobook. May read a hard copy another time.
boggremlin's review
3.0
A sobering and well-explored history of palm oil, past and present. Discusses the ways in which palm oil has contributed to societal ills (slavery, forced labor, corporate greed, malnutrition) and climate change.
noodal's review
2.0
As a part of my work concerns land use and forestry in Indonesia, I was hoping to enjoy this book. Instead, I could barely penetrate it to feel even remotely immersed, as if I kept getting stuck on some invisible film of oil floating on the book's body of water. It read more like a travelogue than an in-depth analysis of the global palm industry. Like, is it really necessary to highlight the prominent smoking culture in Indonesia and mention every time your interviewee was puffing on a clove cigarette? As relevant as species endangerment resulting from forest clearing for oil palm plantations is, I don't think the 10+ pages on Zuckerman's adventures in a Sumatran orangutan sanctuary really added to the discussion. It felt like it was written with an agenda rather than a compelling argument of how palm oil weaved itself into the global market. I think if you cut out all the fat, you'd be left with a generous exposition of palm oil's history that could easily set up something with more meat.
the_sassy_bookworm's review
4.0
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Definitely an interesting read. Not the most upbeat of books, but a very important read for everyone. I found it a little "dry" in places, but the author did well in presenting us with a lot of facts and information to chew on. I'll admit, how prevalent the use of palm oil actually is surprised me.
**ARC Via NetGalley**
Definitely an interesting read. Not the most upbeat of books, but a very important read for everyone. I found it a little "dry" in places, but the author did well in presenting us with a lot of facts and information to chew on. I'll admit, how prevalent the use of palm oil actually is surprised me.
**ARC Via NetGalley**
cassandrat's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
4.75
What I learned from this book: Palm Oil is in everything because it is cheap. It is cheap because it grows in climates around the equator that coincide with countries that have been and continue to be exploited by corporations since colonialism. The land has mostly been taken illegally or via corruption (i.e. paying for corrupt officials to get office who then find a way to give the land to corporations or otherwise maintain their ownership of it) from local farmers and communities, which then have no source of food or livelihood other than to work for these agriculture corporations. The laborers, if paid (i.e. aren't victims of human trafficking), are paid little and poisoned by unsafe pesticides and other reprehensible business practices. Unions are busted and members are killed. Reporters reporting on the illegal and unethical practices of palm oil firms are jailed and at least one died in jail. The companies make it seem like palm oil is a choice of industry in Malaysia and Indonesia. It is not. It has been engineered to remove other options. Locals are given money to illegally burn rainforest and peat forest, which are vital to global climate control and ecosystems and for many communities to hunt and to feed themselves (since palm oil plantations remove forest habitat for game and pollute rivers killing the fish from their toxic business practices).
It is probably one of the most destructive industries, and it gets away with it by exploiting people in countries like Guatemala, Malaysia, and Indonesia and backing corrupt officials that dox, murder and suppress the local unionizers, activists and watchdogs.
The book, unfortunately, doesn't connect all the dots so nicely. It is a comprehensive piece of reporting. Also, since another reporter mysteriously died in jail for exposing some of these practices, the reporting is also dangerous and brave. So, I highly recommend the book, but I caution the reader to be a bit patient and ready to do some work to see how it all fits together.
Solutions that I came away with:
1. Tell everyone I know about this
Avoid Palm Oil products as much as possible by reading labels and cooking your own food especially baked or fried. It's in products such as cookies, shampoo, biofuel - it's even in baking mixes sometimes not labeled as a replacement for creamer.
2. Donate to the WWF, Eyes on the Forest (EOF), Human Rights Watch and similar organizations
3. Do not believe the way these corporations scapegoat locals and claim anti-palm is an "ecocolonialism". The industry is highly exploitative and destructive to local communities and locals that don't fall in line or who try to fight for their rights are killed and harrased by these corporations. There is an organized campaign to make it seem like palm oil is necessary for these economies. It isn't. It is harmful, but a few fat cats at the top make it the power house it is.
4. Write letters to representatives about legislation to restrict the use of these oils and these business practices. No company should be allowed to steal land and force labor.
5. Write letters to corporations like PepsiCo and Unilever to ensure they stop using palm and sourcing from companies with these practices.
6. Volunteer with organizations like the one listed to donate above.
It is probably one of the most destructive industries, and it gets away with it by exploiting people in countries like Guatemala, Malaysia, and Indonesia and backing corrupt officials that dox, murder and suppress the local unionizers, activists and watchdogs.
The book, unfortunately, doesn't connect all the dots so nicely. It is a comprehensive piece of reporting. Also, since another reporter mysteriously died in jail for exposing some of these practices, the reporting is also dangerous and brave. So, I highly recommend the book, but I caution the reader to be a bit patient and ready to do some work to see how it all fits together.
Solutions that I came away with:
1. Tell everyone I know about this
Avoid Palm Oil products as much as possible by reading labels and cooking your own food especially baked or fried. It's in products such as cookies, shampoo, biofuel - it's even in baking mixes sometimes not labeled as a replacement for creamer.
2. Donate to the WWF, Eyes on the Forest (EOF), Human Rights Watch and similar organizations
3. Do not believe the way these corporations scapegoat locals and claim anti-palm is an "ecocolonialism". The industry is highly exploitative and destructive to local communities and locals that don't fall in line or who try to fight for their rights are killed and harrased by these corporations. There is an organized campaign to make it seem like palm oil is necessary for these economies. It isn't. It is harmful, but a few fat cats at the top make it the power house it is.
4. Write letters to representatives about legislation to restrict the use of these oils and these business practices. No company should be allowed to steal land and force labor.
5. Write letters to corporations like PepsiCo and Unilever to ensure they stop using palm and sourcing from companies with these practices.
6. Volunteer with organizations like the one listed to donate above.