Palm Oil Newsroom

Girl Scouts Activists, Rainforest Action Network and Union of Concerned Scientists Respond to Palm Oil Cookie Announcement by Girl Scouts USA

Release Date: 
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Contact:
Laurel Sutherlin 415.246.0161 laurel@ran.org

Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva, the two Girl Scouts that have been leading the effort to make Girl Scout cookies deforestation free, issued the following statement in reaction to Girl Scouts USA announcement that it will purchase Green Palm certificates and work towards the use of RSPO-certified palm oil by 2015, as well as work to reduce the amount of palm oil used in its cookies. They are available for interviews. 

Cargill tied to violence in Sumatra?

Security forces used by a palm oil supplier to Cargill are using violence and intimidation against villagers in Indonesia, the Rainforest Action Network claims.

The Rainforest Action Network accused palm oil supplier Wilmar of using armed violence against villagers in Sumatra. Heavy machinery, the advocacy group adds, is used by Wilmar to destroy area homes as well.

Lindsey Allen, forest program director at the group, said agricultural trading giant Cargill needs to adopt "crucial" safeguards on its supply chains.

Cargill tied to violence in Sumatra?
United Press International
Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Cargill Sets Sustainable Goals for Palm Oil, But Are They Too Little, Too Late?

Agribusiness giant Cargill has announced plans to offer only sustainably-certified palm oil by 2015 for certain countries, including the U.S., and by 2020 worldwide. On the surface, that sounds like a positive step forward, but on closer look, it seems like just another empty PR move.

Cargill Sets Sustainable Goals for Palm Oil, But Are They Too Little, Too Late?
Treehugger
Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Cargill Supplier Linked to Violence and Home Demolition in Indonesia

Release Date: 
Monday, August 29, 2011

 

CONTACT:

Laurel Sutherlin, 415.246.0161 laurel@ran.org

Rivani Noor, +62 816 320 5344 rivani@cappa.or.id

Rainforest Action Network Statement on Cargill’s Commitment to Supply RSPO Certified Palm Oil by 2015

Release Date: 
Tuesday, July 12, 2011

SAN FRANCISCO – Today, Cargill announced new commitments covering palm oil products that it supplies to its customers in Europe, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, indicating that they should be certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) and/or originate from smallholder growers by 2015. This goal excludes palm kernel oil products. The company will also extend its commitment to cover 100% of its palm oil products and all customers worldwide by 2020.
 

Cargill Supplier Connected to Illegal Logging; Allegations of Slave Labor

Release Date: 
Monday, June 20, 2011

CONTACT:
Laurel Sutherlin, 415.246.0161

IOI Corp's palm oil not green or sustainable

IOI Corporation, one of Malaysia's leading producers of palm oil, has failed to comply with the terms set by the RSPO Grievance Panel last month, says an international coalition of NGOs that has filed several formal grievances against IOI Corporation, an executive board member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO).

IOI Corp's palm oil not green or sustainable
malaysiakini
Friday, May 27, 2011

Making Girl Scout Cookies Better for the Planet

For Madison Vorva and Rhiannon Tomtishen, it all began with orangutans. Four years ago-inspired by the work of primate researcher Jane Goodall-the two friends from Ann Arbor, Mich., collaborated on a research report on the endangered primates to help qualify for their Girl Scout Bronze award, one of the highest prizes offered by the 3.2 million-member organization. Vorva and Tomtishen have both been scouts since they were five years old, and they take their roles and responsibilities seriously.

Making Girl Scout Cookies Better for the Planet
Time Magazine
Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Cookie Crumbles for Girl Scouts, as Teens Launch Palm-Oil Crusade

To earn their Girl Scout Bronze Award four years ago, Rhiannon Tomtishen and Madison Vorva set out to study orangutans.

Instead, they wound up investigating Thin Mints, Trefoils and Samoas.

What they uncovered soured them on the sweets and has put the Michigan teens at odds with Girl Scouts of the USA. Now they're on a march to change the recipe for Girl Scout cookies.

Their target: palm oil, which can come from places the primates live.

Cookie Crumbles for Girl Scouts, as Teens Launch Palm-Oil Crusade
Wall Street Journal
Friday, May 20, 2011

Girl Scouts Are Awesome: Saving the Rainforest From Their Cookies

Girl Scout cookies seem innocent enough. Besides the sugar and calories, what harm could they possibly cause? Quite a bit it turns out. Girl Scout cookies use a whole lot of palm oil, the controversial ingredient that is inextricably linked to rainforest destruction, violations of Indigenous rights, and the extinction of endangered species like orangutans, tigers, elephants, and rhinoceros.

Girl Scouts Are Awesome: Saving the Rainforest From Their Cookies
Good
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
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