The Power is in Your Palm Tour Visits Heinz with Power Shift 2013!

posted by Rainforest Action Network

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The “Power Is In Your Palm” Road Show has brought us to Power Shift in Pittsburgh, PA, where I’ve spent the last several days surrounded by thousands of inspiring youth leaders building a movement to stop the climate crisis. We’re here to talk about the connection between our food choices and climate change, so it couldn’t be more perfect that we’re in the hometown of the H.J. Heinz Company, a key player in the Snack Food 20.

We expect better from the Snack Food 20—so today we went directly to Heinz’s corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh, PA. Now it’s your turn to make sure it knows that you’re watching and demanding an end to the use of Conflict Palm Oil in its snack food products.

Heinz is a major U.S based global food company that uses palm oil. Over the past 6 months it has failed to reply to our letters and meet with us to sort out its Conflict Palm Oil problem. Here’s the 3 things you can do to show Heinz that we mean business when we call on it to eliminate Conflict Palm Oil from their products.

1. Call Heinz at (412) 456-5700. Here’s a call script you can use:

“Hi, my name is [your name] from [your city]. I’m a [student, mom, dad…] and one of your valued customers! It concerns me that your company cannot guarantee that it is not using Conflict Palm Oil in its products. Heinz must demand responsible palm oil from its suppliers and eliminate Conflict Palm Oil from its products. I encourage you to secure a new global responsible palm oil procurement policy and implementation plan that ensures that the palm oil in your company’s supply chain is fully traceable, legally grown, and sourced from verified responsible palm oil producers not associated with deforestation, expansion onto carbon-rich peatlands or human and labor rights violations. Thank You!”

2. Post this message on Heinz’s Facebook wall:

Hey Heinz, I’m standing with orangutans, and I can’t stand by brands that use Conflict Palm Oil. Demand responsible palm oil from your suppliers and eliminate Conflict Palm Oil from your products. The power is #InYourPalm.

3. Tweet at Heinz:

Hey @HJHeinzCompany, I can’t stand by brands that use Conflict #PalmOil. The power is #InYourPalm.

At the Heinz HQ, Strawberry, her friends from the Pittsburgh Palm Oil Action Team and a dozen Power Shift youth leaders attempted to give representatives of Heinz a copy of the RAN report Conflict Palm Oil: How US Snack Food Brands are Contributing to Orangutan Extinction, Climate Change and Human Rights Violations and to outline RAN’s demand to cut Conflict Palm Oil. However, Heinz representatives did the corporate equivalent of closing their eyes and plugging their ears—refusing to accept the report, hanging up the phone, and calling security.

Heinz is one of only 3 Snack Food 20 companies who have refused to meet with us to discuss removing Conflict Palm Oil from their products. Heinz can not ignore the growing movement of people calling for change. We need to raise our voices so they have no choice but to change the way they do business. Can you call Heinz now to add your voice to our demands?

Today’s visit to Heinz is the latest company stop on The Power Is In Your Palm Tour. In the past month, Strawberry and our team have visited the headquarters of Mondelēz, Kraft Foods, Kellogg’s, Smucker’s, Mars, Dunkin Donuts, and Pepsi to deliver the report and a similar set of demands.

This has been an incredible month for our campaign to eliminate Conflict Palm Oil from our food! The Snack Food 20 are feeling the pressure. Let’s keep it up!