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A review by cassandrat
Planet Palm: How Palm Oil Ended Up in Everything--And Endangered the World by Jocelyn C. Zuckerman
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.